No timeline yet for gubernatorial transition

DES MOINES - Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday it appears she will be taking the oath to become Iowa's next governor yet this month.

Gov. Terry Branstad is slated to appear Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of the process for him to be confirmed as President Donald Trump's pick for ambassador to China.

After that, it may possibly take up to three weeks for the process to play out, 'but it's still speculation at this point,” Reynolds told reporters during the administration's weekly news conference. Right now, 'we're at the mercy of the federal government, so anything is possible,” she added.

Reynolds said gubernatorial transition plans still are being formulated and once more is known she expects she and the governor will announce a timeline for when he resigns as governor and she takes the oath.

'After the hearing, we'll get some sense, I think, of what that timeline looks like and we'll build off of that,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds said the deadline is May 22 for the governor to take action on bills passed during the recently completed 2017 legislative session, and she expects the two will spend considerable time this month going over the policy and fiscal budget bills.

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