Dean Wink and House Appropriations
Last week, Senate Republicans nominated Sen. Corey Brown to be their nominee for president pro tempore of the Senate. Brown, currently the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the new demands of that job mean he may have to give up his Appropriations chairmanship.
On Saturday, House Republicans elected as their speaker pro tempore Rep. Dean Wink — the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Will Wink have to step down?
He said that decision has yet to be made.
“There’s probably advantages and disadvantages. I’m 50-50,” he said. “The more involved I am (in leadership) the less time I’ll have with Appropriations.”
Despite the similar titles, the comparison with Brown isn’t exact — the Senate president pro tem is a higher-ranking position with full responsibility for committee appointments, while the House speaker pro tem is an assistant and stand-in to the speaker.
Presuming GOP choice Rep. Brian Gosch is elected speaker by the full House, he’ll be the one to make the decision about Wink’s chairmanship.
“I’m going to be talking with leadership and the committee before any decisions will be made,” Wink said.
