(The Center Square) – The top Republican in the Wisconsin Senate is not happy with Gov. Tony Evers’ latest pick to head the Department of Natural Resources.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu didn’t actually say he has a problem with Karen Hyun herself.
“Senate Republicans look forward to meeting with Dr. Hyun to discuss her qualifications to serve as Wisconsin’s DNR Secretary as we fulfill our constitutional duty of advice and consent,” he said in a statement.
LeMahiue’s problem is with Evers, and the governor’s decision to wait so long to name someone to head one of the state’s most comprehensive agencies.
“There are families who should have clean water this Christmas who don’t because of the governor’s irresponsible PFAS veto,” LeMahieu added. “If the governor had appointed a qualified DNR secretary after former-Secretary Payne’s departure, their counsel may have saved the governor from that critical mistake.”
Former Secretary Adam Payne left the DNR in October 2023. At the time, he said he needed to spend more time with his family.
Evers on Monday named Hyun as his new secretary.
Hyun is a career Capitol Hill bureaucrat who ended her career in Washington D.C. earlier this year as the chief of staff at NOAA.
Evers said Hyun has the leadership experience necessary to lead with the Wisconsin DNR.
LeMahieu said the governor’s decision to nominate Hyun the week of Christmas “isn’t just insider politics.”
“Taxpayers deserve accountability and transparency from their government. The Evers administration continues to deny them both,” LeMahieu said.
LeMahieu is not saying when the Senate may vote on Hyun’s nomination, or how that vote may go.
The Senate has not voted for many of Evers’ nominees, and it has voted down several of his DNR nominees.
Last year, the Senate voted out four of the state’s DNR board members.
The new legislature is due to be sworn-in in mid-January.