Johansen, Millett out of House majority caucus

Reps. Kyle Johansen and Charisse Millet won't be allowed back into the House majority caucus, House Speaker Mike Chenault confirmed Sunday night. The 26 members of the caucus met until almost 10 p.m. behind closed doors in Juneau on Sunday night to decide the fates of Johansen and Millett.

Johansen, a Ketchikan Republican, and Millett, a South Anchorage Republican, had both lobbied to get back in after leaving the majority in November during a dispute over committee assignments. They'd called and e-mailed their colleagues, apologizing and trying to mend fences.

But it apparently wasn't enough, as the caucus decided to reject them.

That means the pair will spend the legislative session in a largely powerless caucus of two. They won't have seats on any of the committees in the Legislature, and could have a hard time getting support for their bills.

Millett originally left the caucus in November after losing out to Anchorage Republican Rep. Mike Hawker as chair of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee. Hawker, who has cancer, wanted to step down as co-chair of the House Finance Committee and take the lighter load of the budget and audit committee.

Johansen then offered to step down as House Majority Leader if that would get Millett a seat on the Finance Committee. The caucus didn't agree, and he walked out as well.
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