AGENCY VILLAGE, S.D. (AP) – The chairman of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate said Tuesday that he has been suspended by his tribal government for the second time in less than three months.

Chairman Bruce Renville said he faces a removal hearing on Nov. 17 on unspecified charges. The council previously suspended Renville in September for ordering a surprise mass drug testing of hundreds of tribal government employees.

Renville has argued he was within his authority to order the drug tests, which he said were the right thing to do. He has said drugs are a major problem on the reservation.

He retained chairmanship of the tribe living on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation after a hearing later in September. Renville was previously represented by Brendan Johnson, who until recently served as the U.S. attorney for the state.

Renville said he anticipated the renewed efforts to suspend him because promises to cooperate never materialized. He said late last week he suspended the tribe’s vice chairman for excessive absenteeism.

The tribal councilman who Renville said spearheaded the effort to suspend him didn’t immediately respond to a telephone message or email requesting comment. A woman who answered the telephone at the vice chairman’s office declined to comment to The Associated Press.

Renville said he’ll know in a few days if he will contest the efforts. He said there are emotional considerations and a financial element to his decision-making, since pushing back would require him to hire an attorney at his own expense.

“Do I want to really go back into that environment where you have a council against you on everything?” Renville said. “Does that make sense that I should put myself up to that time and time again? You know they’ll just keep doing it.”