Idaho Republicans Archives | Northwest Public Broadcasting

Idaho Lawmakers Look To Cancel Funding Of Their Fellow Republican: The State’s Attorney General

By NWPB News March 9, 2021

File photo. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden during a 2017 interview in Boise. GOP Idaho lawmakers frustrated with the Republican Idaho attorney general have put forward a series of bills that could significantly defund his office. Wasden irked lawmakers by not joining a Texas lawsuit to invalidate the presidential election. CREDIT: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP

Lawrence Wasden, who was elected Idaho’s top lawyer in 2003, has called some legislation from conservative lawmakers unconstitutional. The state has paid over $3 million in legal fees since 1995 — some of it after ignoring his advice and losing court challenges. Read More

Idaho Lawmakers Introduce Bill Seeking To Ban City-County Mask Mandates

By NWPB News March 2, 2021

Republican state Rep. Karey Hanks addresses the House State Affairs Committee, Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in the Statehouse in Boise, Idaho. The committee introduced legislation to prohibit mask mandates in Idaho.

An Idaho House panel took up legislation Tuesday to prohibit mask mandates by government entities that have been put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The House State Affairs Committee cleared the way for a potential hearing on the bill put forward by a dozen conservative Republican lawmakers. Read More

Idaho Legislature Inches Closer To Stripping Governor Of Authority Over Special Sessions

By NWPB News March 1, 2021

The Idaho Senate meets in the Statehouse on Feb. 18, 2021, in Boise. The Senate voted 35-0 to make permanent changes in Idaho's absentee ballot counting intended to speed up the process. CREDIT: Keith Ridler/AP

An Idaho Senate panel of lawmakers on Monday approved a new version of a constitutional amendment allowing the part-time Idaho Legislature to call itself into s3ession. But several Republicans in the super-majority joined Democrats in opposing the measure amid concerns the Legislature could become a fulltime operation. Read More

Idaho Lawmakers Get Closer To Stripping Governor Of Some Emergency Powers

By NWPB News February 17, 2021

File photo. Idaho Senate gathers in the Statehouse in Boise on January 15, 2021. A Senate panel of lawmakers has approved a constitutional amendment allowing the part-time Idaho Legislature to call itself into a special session. The panel also on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, approved companion legislation that would create the legal process to make that happen. CREDIT: Keith Ridler/AP

The legislation stems from lawmaker dissatisfaction with a temporary lockdown and other restrictions that Republican Gov. Brad Little put in place last March to reduce coronavirus infections and deaths. The Republican-dominated Legislature had adjourned for the year by then and was powerless to do anything. Read More

Idaho Statehouse Showdown Escalates As Governor Accuses Lawmakers Of Pushing Misinformation

By NWPB News January 25, 2021

Gov. Brad Little delivers a televised speech Friday defending Idaho’s emergency order. CREDIT: Idaho Public TV/Screenshot

Gov. Brad Little vigorously defended the statewide emergency order Friday, accusing members of the Legislature of pushing misinformation about the coronavirus and endangering Idahoans’ lives. Continue Reading Idaho Read More

Analysis: The Showdown Between Idaho Lawmakers And Governor That Could Define 2021 Session

By NWPB News January 21, 2021

Senators watch Gov. Brad Little’s 2021 State of the State address from the floor of the Senate chambers. Because of COVID-19 precautions, Little delivered the address remotely instead of in the traditional joint gathering of the House and Senate chambers. CREDIT: Nik Streng/ Idaho EdNews

With at least 11 pieces of legislation already in the pipeline — all addressing some aspect of Little’s coronavirus response, and the Legislature’s role during an emergency — this issue is a long way from settled. And it could be a fascinating, defining debate of the 2021 session. Separation of powers, once the stuff of a “Schoolhouse Rock” segment, is all a bit more real Read More

Unlike Washington, Idaho Governor Keeps Asking, But Not Mandating, People Follow COVID Measures

By Scott Leadingham December 10, 2020

Idaho Gov. Brad Little spoke during a virtual press conference Dec. 10 and pleaded with residents to use masks in public and reduce gatherings. But he doubled down on not mandating anything statewide. CREDIT: Idaho Public Television/screenshot

“I don’t know that there’s been anyone who’s a bigger advocate for changing behavior,” Gov. Brad Little said Thursday. “What I want is compliance. And we’re just having an issue (with compliance).” Continue Reading Read More

A Novel Virus Exposes An Old Rift Within Idaho’s GOP

By NWPB News May 26, 2020

Gov. Brad Little delivers his State of the State address on Jan. 6, with Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin seated behind him. McGeachin has been among the state’s most vocal critics of Little’s coronavirus response. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho EdNews

In Idaho, the divide between Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is something we all could see coming — grounded, in part, by the fact that Idaho elects its governors and lieutenant governors independently. Little has no more say in this matter than any individual Idaho voter. Read More