This year’s legislative session started with a dispute between the state’s two Republican senators over who would be named Senate minority leader, and ended with a quarrel between a Republican representative and other members of the House GOP caucus.
The infighting threw shade on any notion of party unity among Republicans lawmakers, who already are marginalized to some extent due to their meager numbers.
The drama started before opening day with an apparent power struggle between Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-Iroquois Point) and first-term Sen. Brenton Awa (R, Kaneohe- Laie-Mokuleia). In a two- sentence letter to the Senate clerk dated Jan. 17, the day before the 2023 session opened, Awa wrote “that I have rescinded my vote for Senator Kurt Fevella as Minority Leader.”
Prior to that, Fevella was officially listed as Senate minority leader and Awa as minority floor leader. Now neither one is listed on the Hawaii State Legislature’s website as holding either of those positions.
Fevella and Awa, the only two Republicans in the 25-member Senate, did not respond to requests for comment last week.
On the House side, where only six of 51 members are Republican, a public spat erupted between Rep. Kanani Souza (R, Kapolei- Makakilo) and other GOP members near the end of the final House floor session May 4. Prior to the session, Souza had called the House Republican caucus “a cult” and was accused herself of “continual bullying.”
Rep. Lauren Matsumoto (R, Mililani-Waipio Acres- Mililani Mauka) in her closing speech downplayed any divisiveness, saying, “This is the most cohesive and unified Republican caucus I’ve ever seen during my tenure, believe it or not.”
Souza then immediately called a “point of order,” eliciting a few laughs in the House Chamber. She went on to say, “I will disagree, thank you.”
“OK, we’ll strike that from the journal,” said Democratic House Speaker Scott Saiki.
“I had a ‘believe it or not’ in there,” Matsumoto, the House minority leader, retorted.
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She then proceeded with her closing speech, highlighting the priorities she had set for the Republican caucus and the actions that were taken during the session. She emphasized “there is still so much more that we can do.”
As soon as Matsumoto ended her speech, Rep. Diamond Garcia (R, Ewa- Kapolei) spoke up, saying “point of order, Mr. Speaker.” He then proceeded to ask Saiki to “strike the previous point of order, as disagreeing is not a point of order, thank you.”
Souza, the minority whip, then clapped back with, “Mr. Speaker, that was actually a point of personal privilege and the same applies. I disagree, and it was a point of order, thank you.”
Rep. Gene Ward (R, Hawaii Kai-Kalama Valley) then joked, “Speaker recess,” which brought more laughs.
Saiki (D, Ala Moana- Kakaako-Downtown) replied, “Chair will take the points under advisement.”
Matsumoto told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement, “In my closing speech, I was trying to be considerate of Representative Souza instead of singling her out for not participating in our caucus. It was her choice to stand and rudely interrupt my closing-day speech. It is unheard of for there to be an interruption during a ceremonial speech.”
Souza told the Star- Advertiser Thursday that Matsumoto stating the Republican caucus was the most “unified and cohesive” she had seen during her legislature tenure was “extremely inaccurate.”
“I was not planning on, you know, interrupting her speech or doing anything of that nature,” Souza said. “But when she said that, a lot of the feedback that I got afterwards was, ‘Why did she say that? Everybody knows that’s not true.’”
Matsumoto said Souza “has repeatedly belittled and demeaned our members for their race, age and intellect. Her actions of bullying and accusations have not ended since.” She said Souza had stopped attending caucus meetings and was angry because she was not made House minority leader. Matsumoto said her GOP colleague “has been intentionally trying to cause division within the caucus ever since.”
When asked about that, Souza said she was “grateful that I have no greater leadership responsibility” with the group. “I don’t even want to be the minority whip.”
The testy exchanges during the floor session came after Souza had stopped participating in House Republican caucus meetings, calling the group “a cult.”
Caucus members issued a statement and video April 17 in response. Reps. Ward, Garcia, David Alcos III (R, Ocean Pointe-Barbers Point) and Elijah Pierick (R, Royal Kunia-Waipahu- Honouliuli) stood beside Matsumoto in the video while she defended the caucus, saying it “is unclear why (Souza) continues to be a Republican.”
“She didn’t participate with the Republican Party during the election, she hasn’t participated in our caucus meetings or events, and she hasn’t voted with conservative values.”
Matsumoto accused Souza of sowing division and discord within the caucus after not being named minority leader, and “bullying” members and staff.
“There is a difference between disagreement and dissension. I will not allow her to leverage any single issue to divide us.”
Souza said she still intends to stay with the Republican Party during the next legislative session.
“I think that what they want is they want me to leave … . And so they have their own agenda, and I’m definitely not a part of it,” she said.
Neal Milner, a political analyst and former University of Hawaii political science professor, said the dispute among House GOP members “does suggest that there is some disarray” and “reflects a difference of opinion.”
“It puts a bad light on (Souza) within the party,” Milner said. “It also puts a bad light in the sense that she’s willing to bring out that dirty laundry in public.”
Considering the small contingent of GOP lawmakers in the House, “most of these kinds of things really don’t carry any kind of weight.”
When asked if she is willing to smooth things out with Souza, Matsumoto said “there have been repeated attempts” to invite her to participate in the GOP caucus meetings. “The door is still open and participation is welcomed; however, respect is a two-way street,” she said, adding that Souza will have to work to repair relationships and regain the trust of her colleagues and staff.
