Assembly Speaker Robin Vos formally dropped Rep. Janel Brandtjen as chair of the Campaigns and Elections Committee after hinting at the move this fall.
She is one of just four returning Assembly GOP members who won’t be in leadership, on Finance or serve as a committee chair for the 2023-24 session.
The other three are: Scott Allen, of Waukesha; Elijah Behnke, of Oconto; and Chuck Wichgers, of Muskego. All of them have crossed Vos in some fashion.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, late yesterday announced his committee assignments for the 2023-24 session, along with the GOP members who will serve on the panels.
He tapped Sen. Eric Wimberger to co-chair the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, replacing Sen. Rob Cowles in that role next session.
Cowles, R-Green Bay, will continue to chair the Natural Resources and Energy Committee.
Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, backed Vos’ primary opponent this fall, and her Assembly GOP colleagues voted to bar her from closed caucus, saying they could no longer trust her.
Meanwhile, Wichgers also supported Adam Steen in his challenge of Vos. The Constitution and Ethics Committee that Wichgers chaired this session was eliminated.
Allen wasn’t appointed chair of any committees for the 2021-22 session after he circulated a letter to colleagues shortly before the 2020 election complaining the caucus leadership in place at the time hadn’t been aggressive enough.
Allen’s office told WisPolitics.com Allen was “not suprised or dismayed” by Vos’ committee assignment decision.
And Behnke, who won a spring 2021 special election to fill a vacant seat, was caught on a secretly recorded tape calling Vos a “swamp creature” while saying he wanted to punch Dem Gov. Tony Evers.
Brandtjen used her position as committee chair this session to push a series of false claims about the 2020 election. She will be replaced in the post by Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa.
Brandtjen and the other three were still appointed to serve as members of various committees. Brandtjen, who is now running in a special election to fill a vacant Senate seat, will serve on the Corrections and Government Accountability and Oversight committees, for example.
Along with eliminating the Constitution and Ethics Committee, the others Vos dropped for the upcoming session were: Public Benefit Reform; Science, Technology and Broadband; Small Business Development; and Substance Abuse and Prevention.
The chairs of the other four committees either will lead other committees in the new session, have joined leadership or won’t be in the Assembly next year.
Also, the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee was merged with Health. Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, will chair that committee.
In the Senate, all 21 GOP members will either chair a committee or be in leadership next session.
Some of the other notable changes next session include:
*Sen. John Jagler, R-Watertown, will chair Education. He replaces Sen. Alberta Darling, of River Hills, who resigned earlier this month.
*Sen.-elect Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Appleton, will chair Health. Pat Testin, of Stevens Point, chaired that committee this session. He was appointed to the Finance Committee and will chair Labor, Regulatory Reform, Veterans & Military Affairs.
*Sen.-elect Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, will chair Universities & Revenue. Sen. Roger Roth, who ran for lieutenant governor, chaired the Universities and Technical Colleges Committee this session.
*Sen.-elect Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, will chair Transportation & Local Government. Sen. Jerry Petrowski, who didn’t seek reelection this fall and will be replaced by Tomczyk, chaired the Transportation and Local Government Committee this session.
See the full list of Assembly committee assignments:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/221215Committee.pdf
See the LeMahieu release:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/221215Senate.pdf
