JEFFERSON CITY — Republicans emerged from their closed-door winter caucus meeting here Thursday with embattled House Speaker Dean Plocher remaining as their leader.
During the meeting, Plocher introduced his new chief of staff: Rod Jetton, the former House speaker who has faced his own legal troubles.
Several House Republicans have called for Plocher’s ouster as speaker after he acknowledged falsely billing taxpayers for travel to conferences in Hawaii and elsewhere. The Des Peres Republican also stirred controversy for his efforts to muscle through the purchase of an $800,000 software program without going through normal bidding channels.
In the wake of the software scandal, Plocher fired his chief of staff, Kenny Ross. Another top Plocher aide, legal counsel Julia Baker, has also departed.
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Lawmakers don’t typically discuss the details of internal party caucus meetings, but one Republican lawmaker told the Post-Dispatch that a variety of parties, including Plocher, expressed their feelings about the ongoing controversy during the caucus.
The Republican lawmaker in attendance said most of Plocher’s comments mirrored what he has already said publicly about the situation.
The House Ethics Committee, which conducts its deliberations in private, is widely believed to be addressing matters surrounding Plocher.
“I walked away with the perception that a substantial number of members in attendance are awaiting the results of the Ethics Committee report before taking a stand one way or the other,” the Republican lawmaker said.
Plocher did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Though Plocher has faced scattered calls to resign, the majority of the House GOP caucus had as of Thursday morning not done so.
“I know we’ll be talking about that — and probably learn a lot more then,” said state Rep. Renee Reuter, R-Imperial, before the meeting. “In my experience with the speaker, he’s been a straight shooter and I think he’s a great leader.
“So I’m hoping everything turns out OK for him,” she said. “I support him right now based on what I know now.”
Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, said he was waiting for the House Ethics Committee to release its findings before formulating an opinion.
But that could be weeks or months away, well into the legislative session, which begins in January.
After the caucus meeting had ended, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat running for governor, said Plocher’s hiring of Jetton showed a failure of judgment and leadership.
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.
Jetton recently returned to state government, working in the motor vehicle division of the Missouri Department of Revenue.
“The speaker’s hiring of a man who pleaded guilty to assault for hitting and choking a woman during a sexual encounter is a gross affront to domestic violence survivors. An admitted abuser of women has no business holding a position of influence in the Missouri House,” Quade said in a statement.
Updated at 5:30 p.m.