Louisiana’s elected leaders have publicly demonstrated a united front since the state’s coronavirus outbreak emerged in mid-March, but that bipartisan approach is starting to collapse, particularly at the state Capitol.
The catalyst is Gov. John Bel Edwards’ decision to extend Louisiana’s statewide stay-at-home order through May 15. The Democratic governor said the move is rooted in science and public safety. Republicans are bristling, preferring a parish-by-parish approach to loosening restrictions that have shuttered businesses and forced hundreds of thousands into unemployment.
But while some GOP elected officials are publicly sticking to muted complaints, criticism from Republican lawmakers who feel sidelined from the decision-making is more direct, bubbling over on social media, in petitions and in interviews. Democrats are pushing back in defense of Edwards.
In other words, legislative politics is starting to return to normal even in a pandemic that has killed nearly 2,000 people in Louisiana so far.
Some GOP legislators are trying to use a little-known provision of Louisiana law to nullify Edwards’ emergency order, a proposal the governor called “completely irresponsible.” Senate Republican leader Sharon Hewitt of Slidell has started an online petition and launched a statewide radio ad calling on Edwards to reopen businesses on a parish-by-parish basis.
Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats are sparring over plans to restart the legislative session today.
“I think it’s not a bipartisan mood in the Capitol because members are at home in their districts, they’re feeling isolated, they’re not getting communication from the administration and they want to do something. Their constituents are looking to them to do something,” said Rep. Tanner Magee, the Houma Republican who is the second-ranking member of the House. “It’s pushing people out to the wings.”
Edwards’ handling of the stay-at-home order struck a particular nerve with Republicans who thought the governor had signaled a likely lessening of business restrictions would arrive in May. Instead, Edwards notified the Republican legislative leaders—Senate President Page Cortez and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder—that he was keeping his order in place for additional weeks only minutes before announcing the extension publicly. Read the full story from the Associated Press.
