Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry stoked the coals of a simmering feud with Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards on Monday, accusing the governor of “playing petty politics” with Landry’s agency budget because he whipped Edwards in a court battle, The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports.
“It’s disappointing that while the governor is playing petty politics with my budget as our roads continue to fail and U.S. News reported that Louisiana is back to being 50th again,” Landry said, referring to a recent ranking by U.S. News & World Report that named Louisiana as America’s worst state.
Landry made his comments to the Ouachita Republican Women in West Monroe, the largest such club in the state. At issue is what Landry claims is upward of $10 million in escrow funds from various court settlements he believes should be directed to his agency.
An Edwards spokesman says the governor has no intention of funneling $3.9 million of that to attorney general’s office. The money came from a 2014 pharmaceutical settlement with the state.
“There’s existing legislation that directs that money,” Richard Carbo says in a statement. “The (attorney general) has already removed his fees from that settlement amount. The remainder belongs to the state.”
The governor’s administration sent a March 1 letter to the attorney general’s office requesting more information before it can release the other nearly $6 million Landry claims for his agency.
Landry, a Republican, says he believes the Democratic governor is retaliating because the attorney general won a court battle blocking an executive order from Edwards requiring specific LGBT protections from companies seeking state contracts.
“It’s clear he was offended that I was right in believing his executive order was an overreach,” Landry says.
