Senate Republicans ousted their leader early Wednesday as other lawmakers continued searching for one more GOP vote in the upper house to break the state’s budget deadlock.

In a contentious meeting that lasted through the midnight hour, Senate Republicans removed Sen. Dave Cogdill as leader and replaced him with Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, who opposes the budget deal Cogdill negotiated for his caucus because it contains new taxes.

The move sparked confusion in the upper house, but Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg insisted it would not change the budget dynamic. He said Cogdill, R-Modesto, and Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, remain committed to the pending budget package of cuts, taxes and borrowing.

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