Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R) says he’s looking forward to Mike Parson’s leadership as governor.
Missouri Senator Roy Blunt prepares for a business roundtable in Jefferson City on May 29, 2018. Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe, drinking water, is seated next to him (Brian Hauswirth photo)
Blunt was hosting a roundtable with business leaders on Tuesday at Associated Industries of Missouri (AIM) in Jefferson City, as Governor Eric Greitens announced his resignation, effective Friday.
The AIM office is just a few miles from the State Capitol.
Blunt gave his first interview to Missourinet, after Greitens made his announcement.
“Well I think the governor has made the right decision for his family and for the state,” Blunt says. “I look forward to Governor Parson’s leadership and certainly will do everything I can to be as helpful to him as I can be.”
Missouri’s junior senator says Greitens’ situation was distracting.
“I think in terms of the state and all the opportunities we have to move forward, the governor also probably realized that his situation was a huge distraction to what he would want to see happen for our state,” says Blunt.
Blunt, who was in Jefferson City for a roundtable discussion about tax cuts and labor shortages, says he’s know Parson for a long time.
Parson is from Bolivar, which is in Blunt’s former U.S. House district in southwest Missouri.
Missouri Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, joined Blunt at Tuesday’s AIM roundtable.
Kehoe says he’s “shocked” by Greitens’ decision to resign. Kehoe also spoke to Missourinet, minutes after the governor made his announcement.
“It sounds like the governor made a decision that he believes is the right thing for his family, and the right thing for the state of Missouri,” Kehoe says. “And I look forward to doing whatever I can to help in that transition and help Lieutenant Governor Parson in any way he’s needed.”
Kehoe echoes Blunt’s comments about the situation being a distraction.
“I am shocked I would say, it’s been a long conversation that we’ve been having about what may or may not happen with the governor,” says Kehoe. “And I know it’s been a distraction for him and his family and for the legislative process and Missourians.”
Kehoe says that “for all practical purposes, Missouri has been without a governor for the last five months.” He says Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, and House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, have been leading the state since January.
Kehoe tells Missourinet he does not know when Parson will receive the oath of office.
Click here to listen to Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R), which was recorded on May 29, 2018 in Jefferson City, just minutes after Governor Greitens’ announcement:
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