COLUMBIA − Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) announced on Tuesday the removal of various members of the Senate's Freedom Caucus from their committee assignments, alongside other changes to the Missouri Senate structure.
Rowden held a press conference following the Senate's adjournment and called the beginning of the legislative session "nothing short of an embarrassment."
"A chamber designed to be occupied with civil, principled statesmen and women has been overtaken by a small group of self-interested career politicians, who all too often, remind me more of my children than my colleagues," Rowden said.
"Missourians have demanded more of us. They have demanded progress, civility, and the passage of policies that will provide better schools, a stronger economy, and safer communities around this state. Instead, the Chaos Caucus has chosen to use the Missouri Senate as a place to try and salvage their languishing statewide campaigns and intentionally destroy the institution in an effort to claim the game is rigged against them. They are willing to kill important conservative priorities like IP reform, education reform, and banning China from owning our farmland, simply so they can continue to receive a paycheck from taxpayers," Rowden continued.
Rowden, noting the decision was "not taken lightly," removed the following senators from the following committees and appointed senators in their place:
- Sen. Denny Hoskins removed as chair of the Committee on Economic Development and Tax Policy.
- Sen. Ben Brown named new chair
- Sen. Curtis Trent named new chair
- Sen. Rusty Black named chair and Sen. Elaine Gannon named vice-chair
- Sen. Mike Bernskoetter named as chair and Sen. Rusty Black named vice-chair
Rowden also established the Select Committee on Empowering Missouri Parents and Children with Trent as chair.
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