Chris Larson is a political extremist. The problem, however, is that he's now in charge and (apparently) power-drunk. He's made some big changes to the most powerful committee, the Joint Finance Committee (responsible for budgeting) and is upsetting members of his caucus so much that they aren't speaking to him. From The Cap Times:

In the Senate, however, the bickering might be even worse. While the animosity between the two parties promises to be plentiful, it is the intra-party feuds that could prove most intense.

Sens. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, and Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, have not responded well to Minority Leader Chris Larson’s decision in November to remove them from the Joint Finance Committee.

At the time, Taylor released a statement noting that the JFC, which is responsible for crafting the biennial budget, would lack an African-American member for the first time in three decades, and on Tuesday Jauch told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he skipped the first meeting of the Senate Democratic caucus this week because he doesn’t trust Larson.

When I interviewed him this week, Jauch explained his exasperation with Larson. In particular, he voiced displeasure at the absence of Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, from the committee that is expected to take up controversial mining legislation. Cullen spent much of last year working with Jauch and Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, to craft a mining bill that would preserve many of the environmental protections that would be overturned in a bill supported by Gov. Scott Walker.

Larson got into power by making backroom deals and promises that undercut another member of the caucus. This is just an extension of his power trip. But if they're not speaking to each other it'll be harder for the caucus to coordinate their travel plans the next time they flee the state.