Missouri senator stalls bill honoring slain firefighter as payback for Democrat tactics

A Republican state senator temporarily stalled a bill Wednesday honoring a Kansas City firefighter who was killed last year, saying the move was payback for Democrats dragging out debate all session.

State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, pulled the legislation from a Senate fast-track calendar reserved for noncontroversial bills. His objection targeted a bill sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern of Kansas City that would create the “Firefighter Paramedic Graham J. Hoffman Memorial Highway” in Platte County.

Hoffman, 29, was transporting a patient after a routine medical call in April 2025 when he was stabbed in the chest, piercing his heart. Despite lifesaving efforts, he died at North Kansas City Hospital.

In a tense exchange on the Senate floor, Nurrenbern pressed Brattin on whether he knew what the bill did when he filed the objection. Brattin said he did not.

“No, I didn’t know,” Brattin said. “I just knew that what you have been doing for this entire legislative session … is not worthy of having a consent bill.”

Brattin said his move was not aimed at the substance of Nurrenbern’s bill but at what he described as months of Democratic delays on Republican priorities.

“It has nothing to do with your firefighter bill,” Brattin said. “I will absolutely vote for the bill.”

 He accused Nurrenbern and other Democrats of “torching” Republican bills, then expecting their own legislation to move more easily. Brattin also rejected the idea that removing the measure from the expedited calendar would doom it, saying it would simply have to move through the normal process.

“That does not mean that they do not pass,” he said. “It will probably get 34 votes in this chamber, but it just goes to a different section of the calendar.”

Nurrenbern said she filed the bill at the request of Hoffman’s family and colleagues and argued it should not have been used as a pressure point in a broader partisan fight. She said she had tried earlier Wednesday to speak with Brattin privately and ask him to reconsider.

“There’s a time for political shenanigans, and then there’s a time to do what’s right,” Nurrenbern said. “If this were to happen to our child, I hope the members of the General Assembly would give our families this level of courtesy and respect.”

Nurrenbern also noted that Brattin withdrew objections to two other bills on the fast-track calendar but left hers in place. She said she sought the streamlined route because the bill was noncontroversial and because Hoffman’s family had asked for the memorial, and she hoped Brattin would withdraw his objection.

“I hope you can be a statesman,” Nurrenbern said to Brattin. “I would love for you today to not play political games.”

Nurrenbern said the dispute brought her back to Hoffman’s funeral last year, which was attended by state and local officials.

Brattin responded that he understood the tragedy of Hoffman’s death and supported honoring him, but said he was unwilling to give Democrats what he called a “golden ticket” while Republicans’ agenda continued to stall.

“We all have important legislation we would love to get done,” Brattin said. “I find it ironic that you think that you get the golden pass on your legislation, regardless of the subject matter.”

Brattin’s decision drew criticism from Democrats and from some Republicans, including state Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield, who criticized him for initially refusing to come to the floor to answer Nurrenbern’s questions.

“Are you kidding me?” Hough said. “This is unbelievable. … This is everything that’s wrong with this place.”

Nurrenbern said she is determined to ensure the memorial bill makes it to the governor’s desk. 

“I am going to make sure,” she said, “that we pass this piece of legislation this year.”