Two top Alaska GOP leaders on Trump: 'It's like Christmas every day'…'if all you expect is coal in your stocking' Gov. Dunleavy cheery about state's prospects; some Republican legislators grim about lost jobs, funds

Gov. Mike Dunleavy says “it’s like Christmas every day now” since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Some other state Republican leaders spent Tuesday talking of a winter blunderland.

“It’s Christmas every day if all you expect is coal in your stocking, “ Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, said in response to Dunleavy’s assessment. “It’s a tough, tough time for all of us.”

Dunleavy’s holiday-season cheer is based largely on the prospect of uninhibited oil drilling and similar industrial activity that might or might not happen years from now.

Meanwhile, the past five wee...