Missouri AG takes over GOP group facing scrutiny and staff shake-ups after Jan. 6

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has taken over as chairman of a Republican attorneys general group after Georgia’s attorney general stepped down last month, citing an internal rift created by the Jan. 6 insurrection.

A spokesman for the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) said Tuesday that Schmitt became chairman two weeks ago after previously serving as the group’s vice chairman.

Schmitt was elevated to chair under the group’s bylaws, but he does not plan to remain in the position permanently because of his run for U.S. Senate. The group will vote on a new chairman when Schmitt eventually steps down.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr resigned as chair last month, saying there was widespread disagreement among the group’s members about its direction.

“This fundamental difference of opinion began with vastly opposite views of the significance of the events of January 6 and the resistance by some to accepting the resignation of the executive director,” Carr wrote in an April 16 letter obtained and published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

RAGA’s former executive director Adam Piper stepped down in January after reports that the group’s policy arm, the Rule of Law Defense Fund, helped organize the Jan. 6 march on the Capitol when Congress was meeting to accept the Electoral College results.

The group’s role in organizing the march has come under scrutiny since the deadly riot at the Capitol. Both Schmitt and his Kansas counterpart, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, distanced themselves from robocalls the group made the day before the riot.

Schmitt’s office was in contact with the organization about a Jan. 5 meeting, but has maintained that the robocalls did not come up in any of their communication.

In April, RAGA’s board voted to name Peter Bisbee as its new executive director. Bisbee had previously headed up the Rule of Law Defense Fund and his promotion rankled long-time staff.

The Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive watchdog group, reported Tuesday that RAGA’s operations director, Jason Heath, stepped down in the wake of Bisbee’s promotion.

“After 8 years of service, I am writing to inform you that I have made the difficult decision to resign as RAGA’s Director of Operations. I respect your votes, but the direction is not one I can honestly stand behind,” Heath said in the email published by the center.

Brandon Richards, spokesman for the Democratic Attorneys General Association, said in an email that by accepting the chairmanship “it also indicates that AG Schmitt is comfortable with Bisbee’s role in the Jan 6 events and agrees he was deserving of the promotion.”

The internal rift in RAGA comes after Schmitt and several attorneys general played prominent roles in unsuccessful litigation that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Schmitt, now a candidate for U.S. Senate, organized an amicus brief in support of a Texas lawsuit that sought to throw out President Joe Biden’s victories in four swing states, including Georgia, Carr’s home state.

In his April resignation letter, Carr said the differences between the Republican attorneys general “have continued as we have tried to restore RAGA’s reputation internally and externally.”

Carr had been announced as RAGA’s chairman in November of 2020 shortly after the election. The same release named Schmitt, who had just won election to a full term as Missouri attorney general, as his vice chairman.

Schmitt has been closely aligned with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, partnering with him on litigation to challenge the election results and multiple lawsuits against Biden’s administration.

On the campaign trail, Schmitt has vowed to “take a blowtorch” to Biden’s agenda and has sought to highlight his ties to former President Donald Trump.

RAGA spokesman Johnny Koremenos said the Republican AGs “are going to continue to fight the radical overreach of the Biden Administration which has destroyed jobs on the Keystone XL pipeline, radical energy policies that destroy jobs, let China run rampant over American interests, and implemented policies that trample on religious freedom and civil liberties.”

This story was updated to clarify the reason Schmitt’s status as chair is temporary.