GOP state lawmakers in Wisconsin, Michigan look to curb power of incoming Democratic officeholders
Less than a month after key statewide losses, Republican legislators in Wisconsin and Michigan are taking steps to strip the powers of the incoming Democrats.
In Wisconsin, state lawmakers held a hearing Monday on their package of efforts to weaken Governor-elect Tony Evers — who beat Republican Scott Walker in November, 49.6 percent to 48.4 percent. Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, those proposals include:
- making it difficult for incoming Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul to withdraw from the GOP lawsuit challenging Obamacare
- eliminating Evers’ ability to choose a leader of the state’s Economic Development Corporation
- limiting early voting in elections (a similar effort was found unconstitutional in 2016)
- moving the state’s 2020 presidential primary from April to March, to potentially reduce the turnout for a state Supreme Court contest set for April
- requiring Evers to get permission from state lawmakers to ban guns in the state Capitol.
In Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reports that the lame-duck Republican legislature has introduced bills that would transfer some powers from the attorney general or governor's office to the legislature and remove the secretary of state's office from overseeing the state's campaign finance laws in favor of a six-person commission appointed by the governor with nominees chosen by state parties.
In both states, Democrats are decrying the moves as last-minute power grabs with partisan intent, even as Republicans claim their lame-duck efforts are about good governance.
It's not the first time Republican legislators worked to curb the powers of an incoming Democratic administration—Republicans in North Carolina introduced a series of bills in the 2016 lame duck before Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper took power that shifted the balance of power toward the GOP-controlled legislature.