Gov. Little Exercises His Veto Pen

Daily Digest 4/9/26

News:

Gov. Brad Little issued a press release this morning explaining why he vetoed five bills last night. I wrote a short article explaining what each bill aimed to do and why the governor chose to reject them.

Gov. Little maintains his record of vetoing at least one bill in every session since taking office in 2019. Thirty-three bills remain on the governor’s desk, most of which have a signing deadline of Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Local Voices:

Senate candidate John Crowder says the attacks on Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld and her husband Tom’s business are a new low in Idaho politics:

This is our Spartacus moment. I’m honored to be able to stand in support of Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld and her husband, Tom. I invite you to join me in expressing your public support for this warrior for the people of Idaho.

Op-ed:

Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke expressed his disappointment with the way in which the Legislature cut budgets across the board:

What concerns me is not the size of the cuts. It’s the method and reason for the cuts.

When you apply a uniform percentage reduction to every agency in state government, you are making a choice to avoid making choices. You are saying that a dollar spent on aquifer recharge is as expendable as a dollar spent on administrative overhead. You are saying that a classroom in Caldwell and a redundant program nobody can explain deserve the same treatment. That is not fiscal conservatism, it is fiscal avoidance dressed up as discipline.

In other news:

This discussion between Nick Solheim of American Moment and Noah Wall of the State Leadership Institute might be the most important hour you spend this week. He explains why red states like Idaho still have left-leaning governance, why it’s so hard to tackle issues such as immigration enforcement, and what we can do to fix it. Expect a full article on his ideas in the near future.