Three Assembly conservatives hit back at Robin Vos for committee leadership snubs
MADISON – Three of the state Assembly's most staunchly conservative members are publicly upbraiding their leader, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, for snubbing them for committee leadership posts in the next legislative session.
Rep. Andre Jacque, R-DePere, told the Wisconsin State Journal the appointments are a warning from Vos, R-Rochester, to GOP members that "conservative dissent will not be tolerated and is likely to be dealt with harshly and swiftly."
"I am proud to continue fighting for Wisconsin taxpayers and the pro-life cause," Jacque said in a statement. "To the extent I have been and will be ‘punished' for my efforts on their behalf, I will wear it as a badge of honor."
Vos did not immediately respond to the criticism Thursday. A day earlier, Vos announced which of the 64 Republicans in the Assembly in 2017-18 will lead its 37 standing committees and 10 of its joint Assembly-Senate committees.
Jacque, a fourth-term lawmaker who last session was chairman of the Assembly Labor committee, was notably absent from the list.
Also excluded were second-term Reps. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, and Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, both of whom told the State Journal they sought committee chairmanships. Such assignments typically are doled out on the basis of seniority and knowledge of a particular issue.
Brandtjen told the State Journal she saw common threads between herself, Kremer and Jacque.
"All three of us are conservative and all three of us are pro-life," Brandtjen said.
Also left off the list were Reps. James Edming, R-Glen Flora, and David Steffen, R-Green Bay.
On Wednesday, Vos suggested the committee leadership appointments are simply a function of the historically large Republican majority in the Assembly. He acknowledged in a statement announcing the appointments that they're a break from "a long-standing Assembly practice of giving every returning majority member a chairmanship," excluding the members of the Joint Finance Committee.
"Due to the historic GOP majority, that would mean a significantly larger number of committees than any session in the last 20 years," Vos said.
Jacque told the conservative website Media Trackers that he believed the snub was punishment for holding a hearing in 2015 on a proposed repeal of the state's prevailing wage, a minimum wage for workers on public construction projects. Lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker ultimately enacted a partial repeal of prevailing wage for projects funded by local units of government; it does not apply to state-funded projects.
Vos criticized Jacque at the time for calling the hearing, panning it as a “stunt.”
Kremer earned a reputation in his first Assembly term as an unapologetically conservative lawmaker willing to go it alone -- particularly on highly charged social issues such as concealed firearms and transgender bathrooms.
Kremer told the State Journal he was surprised and disappointed by the committee chairmanship snub. But he said it may have some upside in demonstrating his independence.
"I'm part of a team, but I'm not beholden to anyone in Madison," Kremer said. "The speaker actually helped me out in that regard."