Kentucky legislature passes bill cutting Democratic governor out of Senate vacancy process
By
Jack Birle
March 28, 2024 6:52 pm
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The Kentucky Senate sent a bill to Gov. Andy Beshear‘s (D-KY) desk that would cut him out of the process of filling a vacancy in either of the commonwealth’s U.S. Senate seats.
The upper chamber of the state legislature passed House Bill 622, which would remove the authority for the governor to appoint a replacement for a vacant U.S. Senate seat and instead keep the seat open until a special election can be held. The state Senate passed the law, 34-3, on Thursday after it passed the state House, 88-4, earlier this month.
The bill comes as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has had several health scares in recent years, and the governor’s mansion in Kentucky is set to be occupied by Beshear, a Democrat, until December 2027. McConnell announced earlier this year he would step down as Republican leader in the Senate later this year, but he has said he will finish out his Senate term, which expires in January 2027.
State House Republican Steven Rudy, who spearheaded the legislation, has claimed the bill is aimed at preventing a situation like in Illinois when former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted of attempting to sell an appointment to fill former Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s seat. Rudy has denied that the bill is designed with McConnell in mind.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/2943978/kentucky-legislature-cutting-democratic-governor-out-of-senate-vacancy-process/
