Republican State Senators Vote to Fire Governor's Appointee to Public Service Commission

Thursday, January 18th, 2024 -- 8:00 AM

(Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio) Republican state senators voted Tuesday to fire one of Gov. Tony Evers’ appointments to the state’s Public Service Commission, continuing a dispute with Evers over how government is run in Wisconsin and who gets to run it.

According to Shawn Johnson with Wisconsin Public Radio, Senators voted 21-11 to reject the confirmation of Tyler Huebner, who was appointed by Evers in 2020 and reappointed in 2021.

Because the Senate never acted on Huebner’s appointment, he had been serving on the PSC for nearly four years without confirmation. Republicans, including Sen. Julian Bradley, R-Franklin, said they were voting against Huebner because he had taken “activist” positions on the PSC, including supporting a policy of lower utility rates for people with lower incomes.

“Their job is to be regulators, not policymakers,” Bradley said of the PSC. “Taking and using the position as a commissioner is a problem when you’re using that position to be an activist.” The vote comes just months after Republicans voted against confirming eight other Evers appointees, including four to the state’s Natural Resources Board.

In Evers’ first term, Republican Senators voted to fire Brad Pfaff, who was at the time the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Pfaff, now a state senator from La Crosse, called the rejection of Huebner an attack on clean energy, the environment and the overall democratic process.

“Voters are sick and tired of partisan political games,” Pfaff said. “Yet here we are once again.” In a statement released by the PSC, Huebner called it an honor and privilege to have served on the commission, saying he planned to build on his work there to tackle “some of the biggest challenges of our times” in a different capacity.

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