Gov. Kay Ivey calls for resignation of head of Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has called for the resignation of the head of the state’s veterans affairs department over what she alleged as mishandling grant money and not keeping her office in the loop with the ongoing business of the department.

In a letter sent Thursday, Ivey asked Rear Admiral Kent Davis to submit his resignation from the department he has led since 2019.

Ivey’s listed reason for requesting Davis’ resignation is over allegedly mishandling an ARPA grant program by proposing uses that would not be covered by state law or policy.

“This put in jeopardy the State of Alabama’s ability to fulfill its obligations under ARPA and your agency’s ability to most effectively serve veterans,” Ivey wrote in a statement. “It thus seriously calls into question your ability to secure ‘additional services’ for Alabama veterans and to ‘cooperate with all other heads of the state departments’ as are your duties under state law.”

Additionally, Ivey said Davis had failed to consult with her office about what was going on in the department.

Ivey’s letter comes weeks after Davis had filed an ethics complaint against Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Kim Boswell, citing that she and others worked to keep his department from getting $7 million in American Rescue Plan funds as well as destroy a bill to create a statewide mental health system for veterans, the Alabama Daily News reports . Boswell is a member of Ivey’s cabinet while Davis is not.

In requesting Davis’ resignation, Ivey announced that she had removed John Kilpatrick from the State Board of Veterans’ Affairs. According to ADN, Kilpatrick had tried to seek funds for his Vets Recover clinic in Mobile while also being on the board, although Davis said he did not see that as a conflict of interest.

As of Thursday morning, Davis has not issued a response to Ivey’s call for his ouster.

This story will be updated.

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