DES MOINES – A former chief of staff of Governor Terry Branstad has questioned the governor’s record in running the state, and said there is room for improvement.
Republican Doug Gross, now a Republican strategist and a former chief of staff under Branstad who once ran for governor, says there’s a question of whether or not Branstad has appropriate control and management of state government.
The criticism came in the wake of numerous scandals in state government that have rocked Branstad’s administration, some of which include political payoffs, firings, speeding SUV’s, blacklisted employees, and more, that Branstad has said over and over again that he “didn’t know” about.
Branstad, apparently sensitive to the criticism, lashed out at Gross, saying “I don’t tell him how to run [his law] office” and “He has not been on my staff for 25 years and he’s out of touch with what’s going on.”
Earlier this month, Gross said that the Iowa GOP “is in turmoil, with no clear leader for the future.”
Watch the video segment:
httpv://youtu.be/ix2-7_AK90o