MADISON, Wis. — The Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly, who had threatened the possible impeachment of a new liberal Supreme Court justice over her views on redistricting, now says such a move is “super unlikely.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos initially threatened to impeach Judge Janet Protasiewicz if she did not withdraw from the redistricting challenge, which is backed by Democrats seeking to throw out Republican-drawn election maps. After Protasiewicz refused to step down from the case, Vos raised the possibility of impeachment based on her style of governing.
Wisconsin's Assembly districts are among the most gerrymandered nationally, with Republicans routinely winning far more seats than would be expected based on their average share of the vote, according to an Associated Press analysis.
When asked in an interview on Wednesday whether he would accuse Protasiewicz if she ordered new maps to be drawn, Vos said: “I think it is very unlikely.”
“It's one of the tools we have in our toolbox that we can use at any time,” Vos said of impeachment. 'Is it going to be used? I think it's super unlikely.”
However, Vos refused to rule this out.
“We don't know what could happen, right?” he said. “There could be a scandal if something happens. Don't know.”
Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said Vos' comments show that “his unconstitutional threat to overturn the Supreme Court election through a baseless impeachment has gone up in smoke.”
The Wisconsin Constitution reserves impeachment for “corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors.”
Vos first raised the possibility of impeachment in August after Protasiewicz called Republican-drafted legislative boundary maps “falsified” and “unfair” during her campaign. Protasiewicz, in her decision not to recuse herself from the case, said that while she voiced her opinions on the cards, she never made any commitment or promise about how she would govern.
The impeachment has sparked bipartisan opposition, and two former conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justices who were asked by Vos to explore the possibility told him in October that it was not warranted. Vos declined to say what advice he received from a third retired judge he consulted.
If the Assembly were to impeach Protasiewicz and the Senate convicted her, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would be allowed to appoint her replacement. If she had been removed from office before December 1, there would have been a special election.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the redistricting case in November and could issue a ruling any day.
The legislative electoral maps drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011 strengthened the party's majorities, which now stand at 64-35 in the General Assembly and a 22-11 supermajority in the Senate. Republicans adopted maps last year that were similar to existing ones.
The lawsuit before the state Supreme Court asks that all 132 state lawmakers stand for election in newly elected districts in 2024.