Dean Plocher

Dean Plocher (born March 11, 1970) is an American politician who has served in the Missouri House of Representatives from the 89th district since 2016. He was elected speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives on January 4, 2023.

Criticism
In October 2023, Missouri senators, including fellow Republicans, called for Plocher's resignation following revelations that he had filed false expense reports. He began repaying reimbursements following media requests for his expense reports. Within calls to resign were concerns of Plocher's push to enter a $800,000 contract with a private company to handle constituent information. A congressional staff member who raised ethical questions about the contracts reported feeling intimidated by Plocher, and the chief of staff who had served three previous speakers of the house was abruptly fired. Plocher accused the committee of drawing out the investigation. In response, committee chair Hannah Kelly attempted to hold hearings with live-stream capacity for transparency, which was blocked by Plocher's office. Kelly's language regarding Plocher's obstruction of investigations was stripped from motions by committee vote. After a seven month investigation into these allegations, the House Ethics Committee dismissed these complaints on a bipartisan 7-2-1 vote.

In November 2023, Plocher announced that he had hired Rod Jetton, previous speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, as chief of staff. The action was criticized as insulting towards victims of domestic violence, as Jetton previously admitted to beating a woman following sexual encounter.

Plocher has also been criticized for a $60,000 renovation in the Missouri State Capitol which involved $29,000 in furniture and repurposing office space for what he has referred to as a "butler's pantry," primarily stocked with alcohol. Criticisms reference the shortage of ADA compliant work spaces in the building, a lack of transparency in use of House operating funds, and expensive custom furnishings.

Democrats in the House questioned Plocher's motivations in appointing representative Sarah Unsicker to the Special Committee on Government Accountability following her ejection from the Democrat Caucus and committee assignments due to promoting Antisemitism.