JEFFERSON CITY — The scandal-plagued leader of the Missouri House lost another top staffer as he faces calls to resign from fellow Republicans.
Julia Baker, who served as chief legal counsel for embattled Speaker Dean Plocher, stepped down from her nearly $127,000 post last week amid an ethics inquiry against her boss.
House officials would not release a copy of Baker’s resignation letter Wednesday, calling it an internal personnel issue.
Plocher, an attorney and former municipal judge, did not respond to a request for comment.
But Baker’s abrupt departure, first reported by the political newsletter, comes after Plocher earlier fired his chief of staff, Kenny Ross, after nonpartisan House employees opposed the Des Peres Republican’s efforts to ram through the purchase of an $800,000 software program without going through normal bidding channels at a time when the House has its own system.
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The growing cloud enveloping Plocher came as a special panel of state lawmakers met behind closed doors for nearly three hours Wednesday as part of a probe into the disarray.
The House Ethics Committee, which is made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, is considering what action might be taken regarding the speaker after he acknowledged falsely billing taxpayers for travel to conferences in Hawaii and elsewhere.
Plocher began the process of repaying the money in October as reporters began sifting through travel reimbursement records obtained through the state’s Sunshine Laws.
The focus on Plocher’s activities forced one member of the panel, Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, to recuse himself from the investigation because he, like Plocher, is running for lieutenant governor in 2024, creating a conflict of interest.
Brown was replaced by Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, who was welcomed to the committee by chairwoman Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove.
“Rep. Smith, we appreciate you taking this responsibility, one that none of us take lightly,” Kelly said before closing the meeting to reporters.
The committee, which is sworn to secrecy during their deliberations, could choose to take no action against the beleaguered speaker, who has rejected calls for him to resign. Or the panel could reprimand him or call for his ouster.
While Plocher waits to hear his fate, the inquiry is expected to be top of mind on Republican lawmakers when they meet Thursday in the capital city for their annual winter caucus.
The meeting is typically a vehicle for members to find unity on issues heading into the 2024 legislative session, but Plocher’s plight has put lawmakers in separate camps, with some calling for resignation and others taking a wait-and-see position while the committee does its work.
Adding to the drama, Plocher may introduce his new chief of staff to the 111-member GOP supermajority. All signs point to the speaker hiring former House Speaker Rod Jetton, who is credited with helping Republicans gain a majority in the House that they’ve held for two decades.
The possible hire has raised eyebrows.
After serving as speaker from 2005 to 2009, Jetton was probed by the FBI for bribery and was facing jail time for felony assault. He shut down his political consulting business and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in 2011.
In recent years, Jetton has returned to state government, working in the motor vehicle division of the Missouri Department of Revenue.