The 2025 legislative session started at noon today, and one of the first orders of business was for the Alabama Senate to elect a new leader.
The senators elected Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, as president pro tem. The vote was 33-0.
Gudger replaces Greg Reed of Jasper, who left the Senate to lead the new Workforce Department under the Gov. Kay Ivey administration, a revamped version of what was previously called the Department of Labor.
The Senate passed a resolution honoring Reed, who spoke, before voting to pick Gudger as his successor.
Gudger was elected to the Senate in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Before coming to the Senate, he served 14 years on the Cullman City Council.
