According to a Capitol Times news story of Jan. 21, only six of Gov. Tony Evers’ Cabinet choices have been confirmed by legislators.
“Some agency secretaries, known as designees until confirmation, were recently appointed while legislators were out of session. Other appointees have been in their roles for years without the state Senate’s OK,” the Capitol Times reports.
According to State Sen. Cory Tomczyk, who represents Iola-Scandinavia and northwestern Waupaca County, “There are many reasons why the Senate would choose to wait on confirming a Cabinet Secretary. But the bottom line is that there must be enough votes in the Senate to confirm or reject. If an appointee doesn’t have the votes either way, then that person stays in their position until the vote count changes. I can only speak for myself, but each Senator has to rely on his or her interactions and experiences with each appointee. As for myself, I have voted to confirm several of Governor Evers’ appointees. I have also chosen to reject some. In one instance, we didn’t even have the option of confirmation since the Governor left the position of DNR Secretary open for over a year, leaving the operations of a large state agency up to unaccountable bureaucrats.
“The Senate has the ability to confirm or reject the Governor’s appointments and we take that role seriously. If I don’t believe that a certain appointee is going to best serve the people of Wisconsin, I will do what the voters of the 29th Senate District elected me to do and oppose their confirmation.
“Furthermore, if Gov. Evers thinks that I am going to support his far-left cronies that have no idea how to run an agency or have limited experience, just because he nominated them, he is wrong. I will do what is best for my constituents and if that means waiting on confirmation or rejecting certain appointments, then that is what I will do.
“Also, I challenge the idea that the Senate is stonewalling Gov. Evers and his appointments. The Senate has confirmed well over 400 of Gov. Evers’ appointments and rejected just 21,” Tomczyk noted.
The Capitol Times notes, “There is no time requirement for state senators to confirm appointees, so they can serve as unconfirmed leaders in perpetuity or until the governor withdraws their nomination, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau.”