Republicans who control the Wisconsin Senate voted Tuesday to fire eight state board appointees from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration, according to the Associated Press, including a majority of the panel that sets the state’s environmental and wildlife policies.
In a series of votes that fell mostly along party lines, the Senate rejected confirmation for four members of the Natural Resources Board, as well as a Democratic elections commissioner who tried earlier this year to prevent the Senate from voting to fire the state’s top elections official, a nonpartisan role. Republicans also rejected nomination of a medical board chair who has supported abortion rights, Evers’ former spokesperson who was reappointed to the Council on Domestic Abuse, and a member of an agricultural board whose appointment was opposed by dairy and business groups.
Minutes after the Senate voted, Evers named new appointees to replace each of the rejected board members. Gubernatorial appointees are allowed to serve before being confirmed, but a Senate vote to reject confirmation carries the effect of firing them.
The Senate’s rejection Tuesday of Sharon Adams, Dylan Jennings, Sandra Dee Naas, and Jim VandenBrook briefly left the seven-person Natural Resources Board without enough members to vote on anything. Evers appointed Todd Ambs, Robin Schmidt, Patty Schachtner, and Douglas Cox to the board on Tuesday afternoon.
