News from the Caucus

  New proclamation indicates governor will maintain tighter grip at least through September OLYMPIA… With the state of emergency linked to the COVID-19 pandemic now past the 16-month mark, the state Legislature’s top Republican leaders say Gov. Jay Inslee needs to be up front with the people of Washington about how much longer he intends...

“It’s Seattle’s state now in politics, and everybody else is living in it,” read the headline of a newspaper column published soon after this year’s legislative session ended. “There’s no question that what just went down at the statehouse marked a political breakthrough of sorts — for the progressive left,” the columnist wrote. The column...

OLYMPIA… The state senators representing Cowlitz County say the loss of a proposed $2.3 billion methanol plant at the Port of Kalama is another example of state government being out of touch with the needs of families and employers across the state. “The leaders at the port, the people at Northwest Innovation Works, and everyone...

House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox and Senate Republican Leader John Braun released the following statement today: “We are calling on Governor Inslee to fully reopen the state immediately. He had left the door open to a reopening before June 30, and we viewed June 15 as a more appropriate target. Now, with vaccination rates continuing...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, offered the following remarks after Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed parts of two bills he signed today — House Bill 1091, referred to by Republicans as the High Cost Fuel Standard, and Senate Bill 5126, also known as Cap & Tax. Together the two bills set the stage for a...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, offered the following remarks after Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed his amendment to Senate Bill 5405. The bill, sponsored by Democrat Sen. Bob Hasegawa, mandates a racial equity analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC). Braun’s amendment, which was accepted by the Senate in a 47-2...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun and House Republican J.T. Wilcox offered this statement today after the governor announced many of his COVID-19 economic restrictions will be lifted by the end of June. “Earlier this week members of all four legislative caucuses encouraged Governor Inslee to share the vision of his counterparts in California and...

OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun offered this statement today after Gov. Jay Inslee announced all Washington counties will remain under their current economic-restart restrictions for two weeks, temporarily ending the threat of a rollback in more than a dozen counties. “I’m very pleased Governor Inslee eventually recognized the restrictions on in-person instruction were counterproductive...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican leaders released the following remarks as the 2021 legislative session came to a close as it prepared for the traditional “Sine Die” adjournment.   Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia: “Throughout this session Republicans have consistently offered ideas and taken positions that come from listening to the people. It’s been disappointing to see...

People deserve a voice in COVID lockdown decisions, Wilson says OLYMPIA – In the final hours of the 2021 legislative session, Senate Republicans are calling on majority Democrats to restore the people’s voice in COVID lockdown decisions and other public emergencies. In a letter to Senate Democratic Leader Andy Billig, Republican senators observe that if...

OLYMPIA… The final 2021-23 operating-budget agreement made public this afternoon by the Legislature’s majority Democrats is still a step backwards for Washington’s low-income families and marginalized communities, say budget leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus. Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, and Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, also are critical of how legislators and the public are being...

OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, and House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, offered the following statement in response to an interview Gov. Jay Inslee gave criticizing the efforts of legislative Republicans to advance bills this session addressing the reform of the governor’s emergency powers. During the interview, the governor claimed Republicans’ true motive for...