Brian Chilson
THE NEW CABINET: Several of them brought underlings along, but only the full secretaries sat at the grownup table with the governor.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson is staging a media photo opp at the Mansion this morning to show off his new “cabinet” — the “secretaries” of the 15 new departments of state government under his restructuring plan approved by the 2019 legislature.

The new cabinet is a lot like the old cabinet in terms of leadership, though they have folded some 27 lesser agencies under broader umbrellas. The new responsibilities have, of course, brought higher pay. Perhaps the secretaries can compare notes on now they’re spending the new loot. And run down the pay raises given to new undersecretaries that several have found necessary to help shoulder the load of new burdens.

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When the governor says he “replaced” 42 agencies, he of course did away with none of the agencies functionally.

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