Fresh off a national election that saw former President Donald Trump reelected to the White House, Utah GOP legislators held another election — this time for leadership in the state House and Senate.
Senate President Stuart Adams will remain in his post for another term, but the rest the chamber’s leadership team will be new for 2025.
Former Majority Assistant Whip Kirk Cullimore unseated Evan Vickers as Majority Leader. Chris Wilson will take over as Majority Whip from Ann Millner and Mike McKell will step into the Majority Assistant Whip position.
When it came to his decision to challenge Vickers, Cullimore said it came down to making the most of his time in office and not any disagreement with leadership.
“This wasn't about different policy direction or anything like that,” he said. “I think generally, everybody in the Senate caucus is pretty happy about the direction that the Senate's been going.”
Wilson reiterated similar thoughts about his push for a position in leadership.
“Sen. Ann Millner is a highly respected member of this body, and will continue to be,” he said. “She'll be a big part of policy going forward, and well respected, and I really appreciate her and what the leadership team has done.”
Leadership in the House remained the same with Speaker Mike Schultz, Majority Leader Jefferson Moss, Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee and Majority Assistant Whip Casey Snider continuing in their positions.
Schultz was elevated to the speakership in a 2023 special election after Speaker Brad Wilson stepped down to run for U.S. Senate. Wilson lost in the primary to Congressman John Curtis, who went on to win the job on Election Day.
Schultz said his House colleagues “gave us a pass this go around.”
“It was not contested this year, but we had a good conversation with our caucus this afternoon,” he said. “We're excited to serve not just the majority caucus, but the House of Representatives as a whole, and most importantly, the citizens of the state.”
One common thread in both chambers is the eagerness of Republican lawmakers to work with the incoming Trump administration.
Utah has butt heads with the federal government for years over issues like public lands and regulatory policy from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Schultz said a main focus going forward will be to “make sure Utah remains a sovereign state and Utahns get to make decisions for Utah.” He noted that the pressure the state feels comes from the federal government, not Congress.
“This is from the unelected bureaucrats coming from inside Washington, D.C., through the Biden administration and we're going to do all we can to push back on those things and try to cement them from happening again in the future,” the speaker said.
Schultz pointed toward energy policy and public land use as key areas where a friendlier White House could be advantageous to what GOP leadership wants to accomplish.
In August, Utah filed a landmark lawsuit challenging control of millions of acres of what the state calls “unappropriated” public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. For McKell, an incoming Trump administration that could be more open to resolving some of the state’s public lands disputes outside of a courtroom is a nice thought. Still, he hopes the state continues to “consider all of our options.”
“I think we keep all of those avenues open. I think we know what the goal is,” he said. “The question is, how do we get there? And having more opportunity, I think, is always better for the state.”
The 2025 legislative session starts Jan. 21.
