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More than six months after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers was inaugurated, none of his cabinet secretaries has been confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate despite warm reviews in several cases from Republicans.

Until they get the green light, members of Evers’ cabinet could be removed at the whim of GOP leadership. That leaves a cloud of uncertainty hovering over a swath of the governor’s cabinet, from the heads of the departments of administration and revenue to the leader of the state’s agriculture and trade agency.

“I’m sure it’s on the back of their mind that they could be tossed out just by one vote,” said Sen. Janis Ringhand, D-Evansville.

Removal from their posts is unlikely, yet the Senate’s failure to confirm the governor’s cabinet places instability over state government. It may also lead some cabinet secretaries to think twice whether to provoke Senate leadership for political gain.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, tore into Brad Pfaff, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, after he criticized the Legislature’s budget committee for failing to release funding for a farmer mental health program.