JEFFERSON CITY — A decision by the Republican leader of the Missouri Senate to jettison the Legislature's most experienced budget writer after he voted against redrawing the state's congressional maps last week comes at a pivotal time for the state's finances.

With state revenues expected to flatten and a once-healthy surplus disappearing, Senate President Cindy O'Laughlin on Friday dumped Sen. Lincoln Hough from his position as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

The move came just 20 minutes after the Senate had adjourned from a special session where Hough was opposed to a plan to change congressional boundaries designed to create an additional safe Republican district to help President Donald Trump during the 2026 mid-term elections.

In explaining her surprise d

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