BATON ROUGE — The Public Service Commission voted to remove Davante Lewis as vice-chairman at a Wednesday morning meeting after Lewis called Gov. Jeff Landry an "asshole" on social media last week. 

The commission voted 3-2 to remove Lewis and named commission member Eric Skrmetta vice-chair. Lewis is still a member of the PSC representing District 3, which includes Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberville and West Baton Rouge parishes.

Lewis was asked if he felt that Skrmetta would be held to the same standard that he has been. 

"Absolutely not. The new vice-chairman has been nothing but disrespectful to all of us. At a commission meeting, he told me he would not respect me when he rudely interrupted. He's attacked every member of that body, but it's clear today that this is political games," Lewis said.

Lewis' position was put up for a board vote after he insulted Landry following the governor's support of newly confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Landry had posted a photo of the newly confirmed Kennedy next to a photo of former United States Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, saying on social media that Kennedy was a "major upgrade in the @HHSgov Secretary department."

"Lots of work to be done, and excited for @RobertKennedyJr to get started. Let’s Make America Healthy Again!" Landry posted. 

In response, Lewis posted the following: 

"This tweet shows that conservatism right now is only about cruelty and chaos. They will find away to be cruel to someone just bc they can... What a completely asshole you are @LAGovJeffLandry."

This tweet shows that conservatism right now is only about cruelty and chaos. They will find away to be cruel to someone just bc they can

What a completely asshole you are @LAGovJeffLandry https://t.co/7j7ahjYzgI

— Commish. Davante Lewis (@davantelewis) February 13, 2025

The vote on Lewis' position was added to the PSC's agenda shortly after the posts were made.

Shortly after Lewis was voted out of his post, he posted that he felt the "Republican Party is full of hypocrites," referring to Commissioner Mike Francis. 

"The chairman('s) motion to remove me for calling the Governor an asshole, but he wasn’t embarrassed to call me one," Lewis posted, referencing an attached text message from Francis that called him an "asshole." In the message, Francis then told Lewis that he "need(s) to repent."

Later in the post, Lewis rhetorically asked whether this language was enough to vote for a new chairman in the same way his own post was put up for a vote.

In a separate post, he also thanked members of the ACLU for supporting him at the PSC meeting. 

The Republican Party is full of hypocrites. The chairman motion to remove me for calling the Governor an asshole, but he wasn’t embarrassed to call me one.

Should we have a new vote on a Chair for his language? https://t.co/Yywbk3Kzq6 pic.twitter.com/khwZSJ1OpN

— Commish. Davante Lewis (@davantelewis) February 19, 2025

"The double standard that has been created right now is hypocrisy. The Republican Party has made Donald Trump their president. They've made Jeff Landry their governor. They say whatever they want, but when somebody bucks back at them and says "You will hurt people because you disagree with them," they find their moral religion," Lewis said.

Members of the public spoke in support of Lewis, saying the move was a violation of Lewis's First Amendment rights.

"It is straight-out racism. This young man has done a phenomenal job representing his area, and for them to sanction him from his position and remove him from his position because of freedom of speech, it seems like we've gone back," Louisiana resident Sherry White said.

Chairman Mike Francis said the motion to remove Lewis was his decision but did not specify further why he chose to do so.

"I am still a commissioner. I will be a commissioner for the next four years. And I'm gonna take every ounce of time that I have on this body to speak up for them, to stand with them," Lewis said.