Op/Ed in BR Business Report: Big decisions lie ahead for House speaker

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Over the coming days and weeks, Speaker Clay Schexnayder is expected to make a number of high-profile committee changes, including swapping out a few chairpersons.

How the news is covered by the media and digested in conservative political circles will give us a decent indication of what the rest of Schexnayder’s term will look like. Because right now, it looks uncomfortable.

Members of and representatives from the Republican Party, Family Forum and House Conservative Caucus—to name just a few folks on the right in Louisiana—have asked the speaker to hold accountable those representatives who stood with Gov. John Bel Edwards during last week’s veto override session. That mostly means Democrats.

The problem for Schexnayder is that many of those targeted representatives helped elect him as speaker last year.

“I am confident that Clay remembers the group that stood with him to become Speaker Schexnayder and the other group that called him (and his allies) RINOs,” says Black Caucus Chair Ted James, who also serves as chair of the House Criminal Justice Committee. “We’ve been more of a family to Clay than the folks trying to call the shots.”

Other House Democrats interviewed for this column echoed James’ trust, but noted that any dramatic committee changes that undermine them in a significant way could lead them to reconsider the support they’ve afforded Schexnayder this term.

When the Conservative Caucus learned above the comments above from James and other members of the Black Caucus, the outfit released the following statement: “Certain individuals have used lies and paranoia to keep mistrust alive; however, this veto session has shown our speaker who he can really rely on and who will backstab him. The Conservative Caucus has only offered our full support for our speaker. Neither our caucus, nor our chairman, has made demands of our speaker with the exception of, ‘call us if you need us.'”

Still, some of the forces conspiring against Schexnayder, like the Republican Party of Louisiana, are no longer shy about admitting they want new leadership in the House. Former Speaker Taylor Barras experienced similar pushback during his term at the top, but it was always loosely organized and almost entirely behind closed doors.

Barras also enjoyed a better relationship with the news media, often meeting with them on the floor after the day’s business was concluded. Schexnayder has shown little patience for such pleasantries.

Schexnayder cut his Baton Rouge Press Club appearance short last Monday after being asked why he didn’t work well with the media. The following day, on the first day of the veto session, reporters learned that Schexnayder restricted media access to the House, “due to COVID.” While that was happening, of course, the vote counts in the lower chamber were falling apart.

The news coverage of Schexnayder after the conclusion of the veto session showed there might be a bit of tension underneath the surface, with many reporters noting his “100 percent” prediction for an override earlier in the week. A few journalists also worked the media access issue into their stories.

The situation brings to mind the second term of former Gov. Bobby Jindal, when journalists around the state started to share in the frustrations voiced by the capitol press corps over the administration’s media relations.

To be certain, it’s difficult to remove a presiding officer from their post in the Legislature. But when it comes to Schexnayder, his enemies continue to push. How he reacts in the coming days and weeks will tell us how successful those forces will be in disrupting the remainder of his rule.

Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly

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