Feb. 12—CHEYENNE — In an unusual vote Monday state senators voted for Sen. Dave Kinskey, R-Sheridan to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, replacing Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne.

After Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, named Nethercott as Senate Appropriations chair on Monday, Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, objected and appealed the president’s decision. Steinmetz referenced Senate Rule 8-6 in her appeal, which states “a majority of all the votes of the members present shall be sufficient to sustain an appeal from the decision of the President.”

Steinmetz then moved for Kinskey to retake the position that he held previously.

“I object on the basis of process, not personalities or the people this will affect today,” Steinmetz said, also claiming this “unprecedented” move had never been done before.

Driskill later corrected Steinmetz, saying it had happened previously, although it’s not done that often.

Kinskey was removed from the position of Senate Appropriations chair last May after having served for the two previous sessions, as reported by The Sheridan Press. Kinskey was removed by Driskill out of concern over his performance as chair.

Shortly after Kinskey’s removal, Steinmetz submitted a letter to formally object to Driskill’s decision. In the letter, Steinmetz said the removal “has never been done before, and is unprecedented in both process and custom.”

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, moved to table Steinmetz’s appeal and debate it at a later time.

“I think the motion is inappropriate for the Legislature to consider,” Rothfuss said. “We choose to put in the chair, then we move beyond debating policy, and we’ve moved into debating personalities.”

Rothfuss said he spoke with nearly everyone in the Senate, and remarked that “nobody wants this situation.”

Rothfuss’s motion to table the appeal failed with a vote of 13 ayes and 18 no’s — with two of the no’s coming from Nethercott and Kinskey.

Before voting, Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, spoke on the matter, saying he disliked the “personal aspect” of it.

“We’re being asked to choose between two individuals — two individuals that have both served this Senate very well,” Scott said.

Senators then voted 17-14 to replace Nethercott with Kinskey.

Driskill appeared remorseful about the situation, and said he felt this was a consequence of his removal of Kinskey from leadership of the committee last May. Driskill told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle via email that the action he took last year was, he felt, in the “best interest” of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

It was apparent on Monday that the Senate majority disagreed with him, he wrote in the email, and he respected that decision.

“I have the highest regard for both Senate Vice President Kinskey and Senator Nethercott, who honorably chaired the Appropriations Committee since May 2023,” Driskill wrote. “I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Senator Nethercott for her willingness to take on the chairmanship.”

Nethercott told the WTE she was honored to have served as chair and put together a “conservative, practical budget for the Senate.”

“I look forward to assisting the vice president in fulfilling our constitutional obligation to pass a budget,” Nethercott said.

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Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.