LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — Gov. Mike Braun on Wednesday said he didn’t like the way his lieutenant governor talked about the Three-Fifths Compromise in a widely-viewed social media post.

Braun’s comments following a speech on his first 100 days in office marked the first time he has spoken publicly about Lt. Gov Micah Beckwith’s video from last Thursday, in which Beckwith called the Three-Fifths Compromise “a great move,” claiming it was an intentional effort to sabotage the power of slaveholding states.

Legislative Democrats, the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, and the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis all condemned Beckwith’s comments, saying they minimize the suffering of enslaved Black Americans and ignore history. All of them called on Braun to rebuke Beckwith’s comments.

“I definitely wouldn’t have used that characterization, and I don’t like it,” Braun said. “I’m a believer that you’d better start thinking about what you’re saying before it comes out. So, I’ll leave it at that, and I think that you don’t want to make headlines the wrong way because it takes away from the substance of what you’re trying to do.”

Braun also addressed a last-minute addition to the state budget bill that converts the three seats on the Indiana University Board of Trustees that are elected by the IU Alumni Association into gubernatorial appointments. IU President Pamela Whitten’s office has not responded to News 8’s inquiries about why the change was made and lawmakers on Thursday night gave vague answers as to whose idea it was. When News 8 asked Braun, he said Whitten did not ask for the change. Braun said it came from lawmakers and he also said, “I did not say I was against it.”

Braun said he doesn’t believe the three alumni-elected trustees represent the views of all of the alumni because only a small percentage of the alumni vote in those elections. The bill gives Braun the authority to immediately fire the three alumni-elected trustees. He said so far, he plans to allow them to finish out their terms.

“It wasn’t representative. It enabled a clique of a few people to actually determine three board members and I don’t think that is real representation,” Braun said. “This is going to be no different than the other six (trustees) in the way that they’re chosen, and if you don’t like that, then you’ve got to think about who you’re voting for in terms of who you want picking them.”

Now that the session is over, Braun said his top priority is addressing health care costs. He said he wants to solicit ideas from around the state so legislation won’t be necessary, but he’s not opposed to taking a legislative approach when lawmakers return to work in January.

The state budget sets aside a total of $40 million in each of the two upcoming budget years for local public health departments, down from the $100 million per year lawmakers had originally planned on. The Johnson County Health Department on Tuesday told News 8 the reduction means it won’t be able to proceed with partnerships meant to combat obesity, suicide, and tobacco use, and might cut into after-hours and weekend care. Braun said he does not believe the reduced public health funding cuts against his goal of expanding prevention of health problems. He said the goal for public health departments and for lawmakers should be to spend existing dollars better.

All but a handful of the bills lawmakers approved this session have now been delivered to the governor’s desk, including the budget bill. Braun has until Tuesday to sign the bills that already are on his desk.

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