Souki expected to join Tokuda in leadership removal
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / APRIL 11
House Speaker Joe Souki is expected to be replaced by House Majority Leader Scott Saiki, according to House sources. Souki, 84, declined to comment when reached by phone tonight.
House Speaker Joe Souki and Senate Ways and Means Chair Jill Tokuda are expected to be ousted from their positions of power Thursday in an end-of-session leadership shakeup.
Tokuda’s removal was triggered in part by the volatile debate over the Honolulu rail project. It wasn’t immediately clear if Souki is also a rail casualty. He’s expected to be replaced by House Majority Leader Scott Saiki, according to House sources.
Souki, 84, declined to comment when reached by phone tonight. He served as Speaker of the House from 1993 to 1999, before retaking the top post again in 2013.
Tokuda confirmed she has been told she will be removed, and said a group of her colleagues plans to name Senate Majority WhipDonovan Dela Cruz as the new Ways and Means chairman.
