BOISE — Idaho House Republicans on Thursday stripped Rep. Megan Blanksma of her majority leader position.
Blanksma, R-Hammett, sent an emailed response Thursday evening following the earlier vote.
She wrote, “To say that I am disappointed by today’s outcome would be an understatement; however, I respect the process and accept the decision made by my colleagues in the House Republican Caucus.
“I am honored to have the trust of my constituents from District 8, and I am proud of the work that I have done and will continue to do as an elected state legislator for the people of Idaho. Idaho is my home. I am grateful to have grown up and to have raised my family here. I look forward to continuing to enjoy all Idaho has to offer.
Blanksma continued, “It is our responsibility as elected officials to be vocal and express apprehensions over critical policy that will have major impacts on our state. While I am no longer Majority Leader, tomorrow is a new day and I look forward to continuing to diligently work for District 8 and the people of Idaho. We have important legislation ahead of us and a lot of good work to still accomplish.”
The Republican Party announced in an emailed statement the caucus voted to retain other leadership positions, keeping Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, as assistant majority leader, and Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, as majority caucus chairperson.
“On behalf of my fellow legislators, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for Rep. Blanksma’s time as our Majority Leader,” Manwaring said in an emailed statement.
No reason was provided for her removal.
The House floor session Thursday went into a majority caucus meeting shortly after the session began. Then, in an unusual turn of events, members returned to vote on a motion to retain Rep. Mike Moyle as House speaker.
The vote to retain the House speaker was held in public by members of the entire chamber.
Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, made the motion, which was seconded by Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa. Palmer declined to say anything about the motion other than he didn’t think it required debate.
Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, presided over the vote on whether the House should keep Moyle as speaker.
Rep. Dan Garner, R-Clifton, said, it was a “sad day,” when the body was voting on the motion, “when we should be doing the business of Idaho.”
“I urge you to support this motion and our whole leadership and move on,” he said.
House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, also spoke in favor of the motion.
“As a member of the minority party, I wanted to respect our tradition of having the majority party make that decision and I don’t see that we have a role to change that today on the House floor,” Necochea said.
No one else spoke to the motion.
Members voted 69-0, with one member absent, thus maintaining Moyle’s position as leader of the chamber. After the vote, the Republicans quickly went back into a closed-door caucus meeting.
No votes were taken on bills during Thursday’s session, which ended soon after the majority returned from the meeting. No announcement was made on the floor.
Blanksma had been majority leader since 2022, after previously serving as majority caucus chairperson; she beat out Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, during the closed-door votes. Moyle also became speaker in 2022, after the previous speaker, Scott Bedke, was elected to be lieutenant governor.
Anyone in the party may call for a vote to retain any leadership position at any time, Moyle told the Idaho Press. Not every leadership position is necessarily required to be voted on at once, like what happened Thursday.
The caucus is expected to elect a new majority leader on Monday.
Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on X @EyeOnBoiseGuido.
