State Watch

Larry Hogan to take over embattled National Governors Association

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) will lead the National Governors Association (NGA) for the next year, taking over an embattled organization that went through a painful leadership shakeup in recent months.

Hogan had served as vice chairman of the panel for the past year. He and the now-former chairman, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), ousted the NGA’s executive director earlier this summer over persistent staff turmoil and repeated conflicts.

{mosads}On Friday, the NGA said it had chosen a new executive director, Bill McBride, a longtime Capitol Hill staffer who directed state-federal relations for former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R).

“There’s been some turmoil and some changes going on at the association, and that’s been kind of a difficult period to go through for the staff and the governors,” Hogan told The Hill on Friday.

Hogan will spend his year as chairman focusing on infrastructure issues, he said, a constant source of frustration for governors around the country who want Washington to act.

“The universal frustration is governors on both sides of the aisle are working hard and trying to get something done on this issue,” Hogan said. “Washington has failed, and we’ve got to do something about it.”

A little more than a year before the next presidential election, Hogan said he realized the political challenges of getting an infrastructure bill through Congress.

“I know it’s a steep hill to climb, but I’m going to put as much time and energy into it as we can,” Hogan said. “There are a lot of issues facing the governors and the country, but this is one where nearly all of the governors are facing this issue.”

Hogan, who briefly considered a long-shot challenge to President Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, said his new job will keep him out of the presidential campaign — both as a candidate and as a supporter of any other potential Trump challengers.

“I haven’t been thinking about that at all. My whole focus is going to be on leading the nation’s governors, which I think is an important role. In that role, I really have to remain, in order to be effective, a really nonpartisan and bipartisan figure,” he said. “I don’t see myself getting involved in the presidential race at all.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) will serve as the NGA’s vice chairman, putting him in line to take over the organization in 2020.

Tags Donald Trump Steve Bullock

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