Republican leader of Wisconsin Assembly says he won’t move to impeach state’s top elections official

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly said Thursday that he will not pursue impeachment for the presidential battleground state’s nonpartisan top elections official, despite calls from the Republican president of the state Senate to do so.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told a WKOW-TV reporter that he will wait until a judge has determined whether the Republican-controlled Senate had the authority to vote last month to fire Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe before he takes any further steps to oust her.

In the lawsuit he brought after the Senate’s vote, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul accused Republicans of attacking the state’s elections. The Senate acted despite not properly receiving a nomination from the bipartisan elections commission, where three Republicans voted to reappoint Wolfe and three Democrats abstained to force a deadlock and thus prevent the nomination from reaching the Senate. Wolfe has remained in office while the legal battle plays out.

Vos said he believes that if the court rules there is a vacancy in office, lawmakers should move to appoint a replacement for Wolfe, rather than impeach her.

“There’s no need to do an impeachment because she’s not there lawfully,” Vos said. “We need to follow the law and see what the actual rulings are from the court.”

Senate President Chris Kapenga, who asked Vos on Wednesday to call a vote to impeach Wolfe, is one of many GOP Wisconsin lawmakers who have vowed to oust Wolfe before the 2024 presidential race.

Wolfe has been the subject of conspiracy theories and threats from election skeptics who falsely claim she was part of a plan to rig the 2020 vote in Wisconsin. President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, an outcome that has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review, and multiple state and federal lawsuits.