MONTGOMERY, Ala – The Alabama Republican Party steering committee asked indicted House Speaker Mike Hubbard to step aside from his leadership role as he heads to trial on ethics charges.
The committee approved a resolution Sunday asking Hubbard to suspend his leadership role until his trial is complete.
“The GOP-controlled legislature needs full time focused attention on the people’s business. The distractions of Rep. Hubbard’s legal situation will make it extremely difficult for him to meet the demands of his role as Alabama Speaker of the House of Representatives,” Party Chairwoman Terry Lathan said in a statement.
Lathan said the party wishes the best for Hubbard and his family.
The resolution is a blow to Hubbard, a former party chairman and one of the state’s most influential Republicans, who has so far hung on to his leadership despite the criminal charges.
Hubbard is expected to issue a response sometime Monday.
Hubbard is scheduled to go to trial March 28 on charges accusing him of using his public position to benefit his clients and businesses. He has maintained his innocence and said that the transactions were legal.
The trial will overlap with the 2016 legislative session that begins Feb. 2, but his defense might ask the judge for a postponement after Hubbard’s lead lawyer left the case last week.
Republican legislators rallied around Hubbard after he was indicted in October 2014, with many attending a pep rally-flavored press conference where Hubbard and his lawyer lashed out at the charges as false and politically motivated. Hubbard’s district re-elected him to the House of Representatives the next month by a lopsided margin and House members nearly unanimously elected Hubbard to a second term as speaker.
However, Hubbard’s iron grip on the House began to slip a bit as some expressed concern about the charges or Hubbard’s ability to manage both the trial and legislature.
“As things started coming out and we started seeing facts of the case, it didn’t really match up,” said Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle. “I don’t think he can effectively lead the House with everything going on.”
Henry said he will push for House members to vote on a new speaker when they convene in February. Henry said he believes the Alabama Constitution requires an election for speaker at the start of every session, although that has not been the custom in the Alabama House.