Evers Budget is attempting to remove state Senate powers to block his political appointees

Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed state budget seeks to strip state senators of some of their powers to prevent political appointees from serving in state commissions and state agencies.

Republican senators say the change will eliminate Evers’ ability to review picks as more than 180 appointees are waiting for confirmation.

Evers’ vast state budget proposals will repeal the Lame Duck Act, passed by the Republicans in 2018 after Evers defeated former Republican Governor Scott Walker. One such change was to block new powers blocking the governor from renovating political appointees rejected by the Senate. The law also explicitly prevented those appointees from serving in interim roles after being denied.

In a post on social media site X on Monday, State Sen. Van Wangard, state Sen. Evers, said the abolition of Evers “essentially removes Senate advice and consent.”

“If the Senate rejects a candidate, there’s no need to worry,” Wangard said. “They can still serve!”

Evers spokesman Britt Cudaback responded with a post accusing Republicans of “liing about what the governor’s budget doesn’t do.”

“This is the repeal of the 2018 Lame Duck regulations that Republicans passed because you were angry at losing to Democrats,” Kadavac said.

Since Evers took office in January 2019, Republican senators have fired many appointees from their various roles overseeing the state committee. In February 2024, they fired Governor Barbara Lawton from the University of Wisconsin Hospital, the Department of Clinics and the Board of Directors without citing the cause.

At about the same time, the Senate fired an appointee to the Wisconsin Public Services Commission, which had been waiting for confirmation for about four years.

Data compiled by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Legislative Standards Office shows that more than 180 Evers appointees are still waiting for confirmation by the Senate.

Republicans say there are regulations coming out of the budget.

In an interview with WPR, Wanggaard said the 2018 change would be to add a “teeth” to the Senate process for reviewing political appointees. He is expected to select people who support his political position, but it is the Senate’s responsibility to interview them to make sure they serve “for the right reasons.”

“So we still have that person leverage, just to make them not make it political,” Wangard said.

When asked why the Senate is waiting to confirm so many appointees, Wanggaard said it’s up to the leadership to decide when to hold a confirmation hearing. He said he has an appointee he wants to confirm, like Jared Hoy, who has served as the state’s Corrections Director without a confirmation vote since May 2024.

Wanggaard said waiting for confirmation has advantages such as playing a role while giving senators the opportunity to “get a record of what they’re doing.”

A Republican leader in the Wisconsin Legislature has already said Evers’ budget proposals were “dead on arrival.” Wanggaard said any changes to the appointment process would “certainly be stripped away.”

The pervasive appointments are part of the ongoing power struggle between Republican lawmakers and Ever over how state governments operate.