OKMULGEE, Okla. – A bill that would have limited the Principal Chief’s ability to repeatedly nominate temporary cabinet positions, and would have penalized those who attempted to operate in those positions without approval by the National Council, has been vetoed by Principal Chief Hill.
The bill had received unanimous support from the council, with all but one person on the council being a co-sponsor of the bill brought up by Representative Dode Barnett of the Creek District, and it had been passed by the National Council with a vote of 15-0.
When asked for comment, Chief Hill defended his repeated nomination of Geri Wisner for Attorney General and accused the National Council of going against the constitution in a statement to Mvskoke Media.
“When I placed Attorney General Wisner up for confirmation last month, the response of the National Council was not to discuss with me the merits of her qualification and experience, but, rather, the Council enacted NCA 25-018 which places limits and restrictions on the ability of the Principal Chief to grant executive commissions. This limitation is a blatant violation of our Muscogee (Creek) Constitution, and I believe I had no choice but to veto the bill. I would still prefer working with the National Council when I nominate and place for confirmation the best and most qualified people to fill these important positions within the Nation. However, I also have a duty to uphold the Constitution and to push back when the Council unlawfully infringes on the authority of the Principal Chief.”
Mvskoke Media also reached out to the National Council to comment on the veto of NCA 25-018. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Dode Barnett responded with the following statement:
“The Principal Chief has the constitutional authority to nominate his cabinet members. He also has the constitutional authority to temporarily commission cabinet members until a candidate is confirmed by the National Council. The MCN constitution does not specify how long a temporary commission lasts, but the MCN law does.
The current version of that code was discussed, agreed to and passed in 2016 under the Floyd administration. Chief Hill sat on that National Council and voted in favor of the 180 day allowance. As Principal Chief, he has chosen to ignore said law.
By continuing to temporarily nominate the current acting AG for significantly more than 180 days. It should also be noted that after the second failed nomination the National Council did ask Chief Hill to search for alternate candidates. It was expressed to the Council that the current twice rejected candidate was allowed to reapply for the AG position and was chosen from the candidate pool and nominated a 3rd time.
The vetoed bill NCA 25-018 strengthened the current law and if overturned, communicates the National Council will no longer acknowledge a rejected candidate moving forward. I believe we are within our constitutional rights in all above stated actions. NCA 25-018 was introduced with 14 co-sponsors and passed unanimously 15-0. The National Council represents the Mvskoke people, and the people should be respected and heard.”
In cases of veto by the Principal Chief, the National Council can override the veto with two-thirds of the National Council’s approval.
Mvskoke Media will report new developments as more information becomes available.
