DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s attorney general has concluded that Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will not have the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor when she replaces Gov. Terry Branstad. Reynolds is preparing to become governor when Branstad resigns to become U.S. ambassador to China in coming weeks.

Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller said in a legal opinion Monday that Reynolds will assume the duties of an elected governor through January 2019 but won’t have the power to appoint a new lieutenant.

Miller’s office had said in December that it agreed with Reynolds and Branstad that she would have the power to choose a new no. 2. The reversal is likely to infuriate Republicans and could have significant consequences for the 2018 election in which Reynolds is expected to seek a four-year term.