Idaho's Governor Claps Back After Lt Gov. Tried to Issue Trump-esque Orders While He's Out of State

Idaho's far-right Lieutenant Governor, Janice McGeachin, is once again at odds with Republican Governor Brad Little after she attempted to do his job while he was out of state.

Earlier this week, Little left for Texas to meet with some of his fellow governors—a moment McGeachin saw as a chance to seize a bit of power for herself.

While Little was gone, the Lieutenant Governor issued an executive order to block private businesses from mandating vaccines for their employees against the pandemic that's killed more than 700 thousand Americans. She also banned vaccine mandates and even weekly testing for the virus in schools and universities.

To make matters worse, McGeachin inquired to Idaho's Maj. Gen. Michael J. Garshak as to how she could activate the National Guard and deploy them to the southern border.

It wasn't long before Governor Little got wind of McGeachin's efforts and rebuked her, saying:

"I am in Texas performing my duties as the duly elected governor of Idaho, and I have not authorized the lieutenant governor to act on my behalf. I will be rescinding and reversing any actions taken by the lieutenant governor when I return." He added, "Attempting to deploy our National Guard for political grandstanding is an affront to the Idaho constitution and insults the men and women who have dedicated their life to serving our state and the country."

What's more, this isn't even McGeachin's first attempt at exploiting the governor's absence to issue her own policies. Back in May, as Little attended a Republican Governors Association conference, McGeachin issued an executive order banning mask mandates. Little quickly rescinded it upon his return.

McGeachin's actions aren't popular with social media users.

Given that Little was in Texas doing a photo-op at the southern border, people weren't exactly sympathetic to him either.

McGeachin will primary Little in 2022.