Okla. AG calls Stitt’s appointments to Oklahoma Veterans Commission unlawful

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KSWO) - Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond says the recent removal of three Oklahoma Veterans Commission members and subsequent appointments by Governor Kevin Stitt did not follow the “lawfully ascribed process.”

According to Drummond’s office, state law requires the commission consist of nine members, including a representative from six specified veterans’ groups.

He said three appointments recently made by Stitt are ineligible because they had not complied with an audit requirement.

“This entire episode has been nothing short of a spectacle. It is unfortunate that the Governor has not followed the proper appointment process, and it is equally unfortunate that the executive director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs is acting irresponsibly and not in the best interests of veterans. It is wholly unacceptable that Oklahoma’s honorable veterans have been left without a functional commission.”

Drummond said the statute requires an audit every three years, but if a member is removed before their three-year term ends, as it did in the current situation, nominees must be selected from lists provided by the affected veterans’ organizations.

He said in the press release he is “confident” state legislators will “resolve the matter this legislative session by stripping the Governor of his autonomy over the panel.”