Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is calling for a special board meeting of the State Board of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday to consider the immediate removal of Kent Davis as the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA).

It’s the second time in slightly more than two months in which Ivey has called for a special meeting to have Davis — the head of the state agency since 2019 and a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral — removed from his office.

“You have lost the general trust and confidence of the Board Vice Chair and numerous leaders in the Legislature,” Ivey wrote in a scathing three-page letter to Davis on Friday informing him that she is calling for the special meeting. “In addition, you have lost my trust and confidence.”

The latest concerns revolve around what Ivey calls a breach of an agreement she and Davis made on Sept. 10, in which Davis allegedly informed the governor’s office that he was resigning as commissioner by the end of December.

The resignation, Ivey’s letter states, would be allowed as long as Davis committed to public and private explanations that all-outstanding issues involving a controversial federal grant program has been “resolved to the mutual benefit of all parties.” That hasn’t happened, and Ivey accuses Davis of a broken promise.

Davis is also facing questions from the vice-chair of the State Board of Veterans Affairs over manipulating the group into supporting his plight during a board meeting earlier this month.

The initial calls for Davis’ resignation revolved around accusations that the ADVA mishandled $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act money earlier this year. Those concerns were raised by Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Kim Boswell, who reported to Ivey that the handling of the grants would put Mental Health – which is responsible for monitoring ARPA funds – at risk of negative audit findings or other bad consequences.

Davis filed an ethics complaint against Boswell accusing her and other department heads of preventing ADVA from receiving the ARPA money. The Alabama Ethics Commission dismissed the complaint in August, and Ivey has since called it “frivolous” that resulted in “widespread reporting of its contents.”

The State Board of Veterans Affairs, in an Oct. 10 meeting, asked Davis to withdraw his resignation after a subcommittee found no wrongdoing with the $7 million allocated to the ADVA from ARPA.

Ivey, in her letter, recognized that the board’s Vice Chair Scott Gedling publicly said that Davis “orchestrated the outcome” of board votes to clear his name by placing “extreme pressure” on some of them “to do and say things that went against (their) beliefs and the very principles on which (the SBVA) should stand.”

“Even the appearance that you were manipulating the Board in service of your personal interests underscores your inability to effectively fulfill your duties,” Ivey wrote.

The ADVA, in a statement, did not touch upon the Ivey-Davis dispute.

“The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) stands by its mission to ensure that all Veterans and their families understand and receive the full benefits, support, care, and recognition that they have earned and are entitled to,” the statement reads. “As has been the case for more than 75 years, ADVA holds itself to delivering on these promises through professionalism, integrity, compassion, commitment, and teamwork.

The ADVA said that Davis is referring all questions to his attorney, John Saxon, who was not immediately available for comment.

A host of Alabama Republicans have also called on Davis to resign. A joint statement was issued early last month from the Alabama Legislature’s General Fund chairs — Alabama State Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore; and Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville – along with the chair of the Senate Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre; and the chair of the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, supporting Ivey’s call for Davis’ resignation.

Also supporting Ivey’s call for Davis’ resignation are Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville; and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper.