Here & Now

Senate Majority Rejects Ag. Sec. Pfaff and Special Session

Frederica Freyberg:

A first look tonight at the governor’s call for a special session this week to take up gun control laws. The session didn’t happen. No debate, no votes. The call was for 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. As the hour came and went, only Democrats filled the Senate chambers and they stood in prayer. Hours later into the evening Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald gaveled in and immediately gaveled out of the special session. The Assembly also decided not to debate or vote on two gun measures including universal background checks and a red flag law. Here is the response from Governor Evers. “Republicans essentially just told 80% of Wisconsinites and a majority of gun owners ‘Go jump in the lake,’ because they didn’t have the courage to take a vote, much less have a dialogue on two bills about universal background checks and extreme risk protection orders that we know can save lives.” For his part, Senate Majority Leader Fitzgerald said this. “In recent months, we’ve seen liberals across the country run on a platform of support for gun confiscation and Governor Evers himself has left the door open on backing similar proposals. I’ve said all along that the Senate would not go along with the governor’s plans for this special session. The special session was the second rejection of the week. The political brawls started Tuesday. That’s when State Agriculture-designee Brad Pfaff was scheduled to be confirmed by the State Senate. Brad Pfaff’s nomination came with the endorsement of a long list of farm organizations including the Dairy Business Association, the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association, and the Wisconsin Corn Growers. Prior to the vote, Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald signaled that Republicans would not support the nominee even though five Republican members on the committee that forwarded Pfaff’s nomination to the floor had voted in his favor. In attendance, Governor Tony Evers, which in itself signaled the controversial nature of the vote that rejected a cabinet nomination by a governor for the first time in modern state history. Prior to the roll call, Democrats spoke on behalf of Pfaff.

Jon Erpenbach:

And you’re going to vote no? That is just so blatantly political. Yeah, we’re going to send a message to the governor. And we’re going to take the number one advocate for family farms in the state of Wisconsin and we’re going to cast him to the wind. You think that’s sending a message to the governor? No. You’re sending a message to the ag community, that even though they have a great secretary-designee, that doesn’t matter to you because you would rather play politics than look at the issues, qualifications and ability.

Frederica Freyberg:

But Majority Leader Fitzgerald claimed it was Pfaff playing politics in his time as the secretary-designee.

Scott Fitzgerald:

When it came to Brad Pfaff, I told the governor. I said, “I don’t think there’s enough support there for him. And it’s because of a number of missteps that have happened actually going back to February. And I don’t know if he was caught off-guard or not. I don’t know if the chief of staff was caught off-guard. But we started a discussion and we started to roll through the individual issues that existed around Pfaff and the issues that are in and around agriculture.

Frederica Freyberg:

The final vote to reject the Pfaff nomination ran along party lines.

Clerk:

Erpenbach?

Erpenbach:

No.

Clerk:

Feyen?

Feyen:

Aye.

Clerk:

Fitzgerald?

Fitzgerald:

Aye.

Clerk:

Hansen?

Hansen:

No.

Clerk:

Jacque?

Jacque:

Aye.

Frederica Freyberg:

The wild week at the Capitol showcasing divided government could have its lasting effects. In tonight’s Capitol insight, Wisconsin Public Radio’s State Government Reporter Laurel White joins us from the Capitol. Laurel, thanks for doing so.

Laurel White:

Absolutely.

Frederica Freyberg:

So first, this was the week Governor Tony Evers called this special session on gun laws but the majority made quick work of that. Describe the mechanics. How quickly did the majority dismiss this session?

Laurel White:

So the Senate convened and adjourned the special session there in about 30 seconds. The Assembly convened and adjourned in about 15 seconds. So very quick special sessions to say the least.

Frederica Freyberg:

Republicans certainly sending a message to the governor.

Laurel White:

They were. This is something that we’ve been expecting for a little bit. Republicans knew what the two bills were that the governor was calling for action on. They knew they didn’t have the support in either chamber to pass those bills. They decided that they didn’t want even have debate on those measures because they knew they were opposed. And that led to some pushback from Democrats saying essentially they were kind of avoiding having a conversation about gun laws in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what’s the governor’s message back to Republicans after that dismissive move?

Laurel White:

The Democrats and the governor are both saying, you know, these measures that we put forward are very popular with the public. They point to Marquette polls saying that each of those two bills have each 80% support or higher. So they are saying that Republicans are essentially doing this kind of at their own expense at the polls potentially for the next election going against in their view the will of the Wisconsin voters.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is happening on another measure with the DATCP secretary position now that the GOP ousted Evers’ pick Brad Pfaff?

Laurel White:

So Governor Evers did announce this week that he has appointed an interim secretary for the Department of Agriculture. Randy Romanski is going to be serving in the role. We have someone there at the helm of that agency until the governor decides to go ahead and make his next nomination for the person that going to have to go through this confirmation process from square one.

Frederica Freyberg:

So again you just called him interim and exactly what does that mean? Do we have that time frame?

Laurel White:

No. I don’t think anybody has a strong idea of how long he is going to be serving in that role or who the governor might put forward in a more permanent capacity for DATCP. He said immediately after Pfaff was voted down that he didn’t have plans for the agency because he was so upset by what happened with the Senate. This is something that’s definitely still evolving in the governor’s office.

Frederica Freyberg:

Has a state Senate rejection of a nominee ever happened in state history? We’ve been reading some about that.

Laurel White:

We don’t have a concrete answer to that. We know it hasn’t happened in at least the last 30 years. That’s as far back as the Legislative Reference Bureau has gone with their records to 1987. They said it could have been even longer than that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Have you ever seen or have others in the Capitol core ever seen a governor in the chambers as this kind of action was taking place?

Laurel White:

No. That was incredibly unusual. I think veteran reporters were talking about how they had never seen it. I think actually a reporter reached out to Senator Fred Risser who’s been in office for more than 50 years. He said he had never seen a governor on the Senate floor watching a debate. So it was a really unusual vote to oust a cabinet secretary and also a really unusual move for a governor to be there witnessing the debate about it.

Frederica Freyberg:

Laurel White, thank you for joining us.

Laurel White:

Absolutely. Thanks for having me.