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Gov. Brownback Will Officially Resign on Wednesday

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has less than a week left in office before he resigns to take a job in President Donald Trump's administration.

By Bryan Lowry

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has less than a week left in office before he resigns to take a job in President Donald Trump's administration.

Brownback will officially resign at 3 p.m. Jan. 31, triggering Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer's elevation to governor. Colyer's swearing-in ceremony will take place in the Kansas Capitol rotunda immediately upon Brownback's resignation.

Brownback will return to Washington, where he spent 16 years in the U.S. House and Senate, to serve as ambassador at-large for international religious freedom, a position created in 1998 to serve as an advocate for persecuted religious minorities around the globe.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Brownback by a 50-49 Wednesday with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.

Colyer, a Johnson County plastic surgeon, has promised the make Kansas government more transparent and to work more collaboratively with lawmakers after a period of prolonged tension between the governor's office and the Legislature.

(c)2018 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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