The White House appointed this week Hawaii Gov. David Ige as one of the two newest co-chairs of the Council of Governors.
Ige, along with his nine other council colleagues appointed this year, will serve a two-year term in their positions.
“Hawai‘i is home to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and thousands of military and Department of Defense civilian employees,” Ige said. “We are uniquely positioned to partner with the federal administration to identify security challenges and seek solutions in working with federal agencies. In 2018, we saw how important it was to work closely with a national agency such as FEMA on emergency responses to floods and the Kīlauea eruption.”
In his new role, Ige will meet to discuss national defense, homeland security, and emergency response, emphasizing better partnership between federal and state governments. The council identifies policy and funding issues therein. It consists of 10 members, five from each party.
“As our nation faces increasing national security threats, this Council is an important partnership between the states and the federal government to strengthen our homeland defenses,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who was appointed in February, said. “It has been an honor to serve on the Council over the past six months, and it will be a privilege to represent Arkansas as a co-chair for the remainder of my term.”
The Council of Governors was created by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 and formally established by Executive Order in 2010.