A key republican legislator suggests the bad blood between House republicans and Iowa’s democrat governor has been laid to rest. House G-O-P leaders this week accused Governor Tom Vilsack’s top budget aide of either lying or being incompetent. Senator Jeff Lamberti, a republican from Ankeny, says that kind of heated rhetoric needs to be toned down. Lamberti says Republicans believe they were “kept out of the loop” by the governor, but says they’re is no need for such rhetoric.
The two top republicans in the House announced Monday they might sue the Governor over his decision to dip into the state’s “rainy day” account to cover an unexpected 59-million dollar budget deficit. Lamberti says a lawsuit is likely a wasted effort at this point.
Lamberti says it’s time to put the hard feelings aside, as a lawsuit probably wouldn’t gain much.
Lamberti made his comments during taping of the Iowa Public Television program, “Iowa Press.” After it was announced the state’s LAST budget ended in the red, House Republican Leader Christopher Rants said Governor Vilsack’s top budget aide either intentionally misled legislators or she doesn’t know how to do her job.