The Michigan Republican Party released the following statement on behalf of Chairman Laura Cox regarding the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 858 which would have limited the executive emergency powers of the Governor’s office. “With this veto, the Governor has made it clear that she intends to run our state without the input of the people’s elected representatives. Now, more than ever, we need our state’s chief executive to work in partnership with the legislature to get through this crisis, but Governor Whitmer rather maintain her own powers. Our system works because of its checks and balances an no one is above the law. Michigan deserves better.” More >

In recent days, Governor Whitmer has rebuked Republican attempts to safely and strategically reopen the economy while allowing Michigan’s May elections to remain in place. Whitmer herself has said that Michigan is “not out of the woods yet” for COVID-19, yet today countless Michiganders and Election Day workers could be exposed to the virus, even though the issues being voted on could simply be placed on the August ballot. “Today’s election easily could have been postponed and rolled into our August election, instead of risking the health of Michigan election workers,” said Laura Cox, Michigan Republican Party Chairman. Cox continued, “It’s quite clear that Whitmer’s executive order only applies when it benefits her agenda. This is a great disservice to the health and well-being of the election workers who perform a critical service to our democracy.” More >

Despite her public comments that she’s “not focused on politics,” the New York Times reported this weekend that Governor Whitmer’s staffers confirmed she was “keenly interested in the vice presidency.” Since the coronavirus outbreak hit Michigan, Whitmer has made over 50 appearances on national television and has been the focus of multiple magazine profiles. “Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders are unemployed and can’t get help from the state, and yet Whitmer is more concerned with her audition to be Joe Biden’s VP nominee.” said Laura Cox, Michigan Republican Party Chairman. Cox continued, “It is hard to take the Governor seriously when she says, ‘I didn’t go out looking for the national spotlight’, when she hired a presidential campaign press consultant at the start of this crisis, to beef up her image.” More >

The following statement is from Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox regarding Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement that she will create a “Michigan COVID-19 Office of Accountability” within the state budget office to oversee spending on the pandemic response. The move comes after Whitmer received national criticism for her administration's handling of the state's COVID-19 contact tracing program which was awarded to two partisan Democrat political firms. “Two weeks ago, the Whitmer administration got caught with its hand in the political cookie jar when they hired a purely partisan Democrat firm on a no-bid contract to handle state business. Now, the governor is simply trying to silence her critics with this blatantly political move. However, this begs the bigger question, which of her political cronies is Gretchen Whitmer going to hire into this cushy taxpayer-funded job to babysit her other taxpayer-paid political cronies?” More >

In case you missed it, the Detroit News recently published a scathing editorial on Governor Whitmer’s most recent power grab. The crisis powers given to Governor Whitmer to fight the COVID-19 pandemic expired on Thursday and, instead of negotiating with the legislature, she unilaterally imposed an extension. Governor Whitmer, in essence, declared she can run the state however she wants and for however long she wants. This power grab did not go unnoticed by the legislature. The Michigan House of Representatives and Senate both passed resolutions authorizing the Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House to sue the governor. Read the full Detroit News editorial below. Editorial: Lawmakers must fight gov's power grabThe Detroit News Michigan is now operating under emergency orders that have an extremely shaky legal foundation. The crisis powers granted to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak expired at midnight Thursday, and when she failed to reach a deal with lawmakers to extend them, she set aside the legislative branch and unilaterally imposed the extension. That’s a stunning power grab. Whitmer is declaring she can run the state as she pleases, for as long as she pleases, with no oversight or checks on her power. This affront to democracy must be undone by the courts. Michigan’s emergency powers act of 1976 allows a governor to declare a state of emergency and assume extraordinary powers over the citizens of the state for 28 days in the face of natural or man-made disasters. At the end of 28 days,... More >

Today, the Michigan House and Senate voted on a series of bills with protections for price gouging, relaxing regulations for hospitals to set up field and testing sites, and orders that helped schools and education. Additionally, they voted on curbing Governor Whitmer’s executive powers. House and Senate Democrats, however, stood in solidarity with Governor Whitmer, voting against the additional aid for Michiganders – in an effort to preserve her executive powers. The governor has also vowed to veto the legislation. “This is yet another show of politics from Governor Whitmer and her caucus. Every step of the way, this administration has been dead set on using this pandemic as a political platform, and today was nothing new.” said Laura Cox, Michigan Republican Party Chairman. “I commend GOP Leadership for continuing to forge ahead in reopening our state and helping the Michiganders who need it most. The hardworking people of our state see through Governor Whitmer’s games, and they are truly tired of it.” More >

Wednesday afternoon, Governor Whitmer overplayed her hand during negotiations with the legislature – releasing emails from her staff to the press just minutes after they were sent to majority caucus staffers in an attempt to come out on top. Not only did Whitmer destroy any remaining goodwill and trust with the legislature, she used her partisan press conference as an opportunity to “torpedo” Republican leadership. From her bully pulpit, Whitmer announced a new program the state cannot pay for, promoted Sen. Gary Peters in a highly competitive Senate race, and allowed a union boss to attack the Republican Legislature. The legislature had continued to negotiate with the governor in good faith, despite her budget veto debacle last year. Yesterday was the final straw for a relationship with the legislature that was hanging on by a thread. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox weighed in on the governor’s selfish actions stating, “Michiganders are hurting. Businesses are facing insolvency. Workers can’t get access to unemployment aid they desperately need, and now Whitmer wants to pick a fight with the legislature that’s trying to get the state back on track. The governor isn’t about the people of Michigan at all, she’s all about Gretchen Whitmer.” In commentary for Crain’s Detroit, Senior Editor Chad Livengood outlines how “In one hour, Whitmer shatters trust with Legislature”. Commentary: In one hour, Whitmer shatters trust with Legislature Crain’s Detroit Chad Livengood April 29, 2020 In the matter of an hour Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer torpedoed Republican... More >

This afternoon, Governor Whitmer’s staff released email correspondence between staffers of the Michigan legislature and her office, signaling she is going use her executive power to extend the state of emergency declaration. A move that was clearly an attempt to spite good-faith negotiations with the legislature. Since last week, the governor’s office has been mum on details regarding how K2K Consulting and Mike Kolehouse were chosen to execute a no-bid contract for COVID-19 contact tracing in Michigan. Whitmer faced backlash when it was revealed that K2K Consulting, and its principal, had deep ties to Democrat campaigns and progressive organizations. “Since Whitmer’s office has the ability release emails of sensitive, ongoing negotiations with the legislature, I am renewing my call for Whitmer to release all correspondence regarding how she decided to hire a Democrat Party operative to oversee COVID-19 contact tracing,” said Laura Cox, Michigan Republican Party Chairman. “Michiganders deserve answers on how and why the governor felt their taxpayer dollars were best spent on enriching her Democrat associates, and handing them the keys to our highly sensitive data. Whitmer and her staff need to knock off the political gamesmanship, and act like the executive office they are supposed to be.” More >

In an interview yesterday with The Detroit News, Michigan's Unemployment Agency Director Steve Gray revealed that he “didn’t know” whether Whitmer’s team was preparing for an influx of issues when she issued her first stay home executive order back in March. Craig Mauger, The Detroit News: “Before the governor issued her stay home order on March 23rd, did you all have conversations with the governor's office where you said we don't have enough staff to handle this continued surge in unemployment claims; did those conversations happen before March 23rd?" Steve Gray, Michigan's Unemployment Agency Director: "Um, you know, I don't know whether or not they happened before March 23rd and I probably shouldn't comment on any specific conversations that we've had with the governor's office." The agency has had a litany of issues over the course of Whitmer’s stay home order. From dropped calls and long waits, to the website crashing multiple times, many struggling Michiganders have been unable to get access in acquiring the aid they need. This month, Michigan hit 1 million unemployed workers – reaching depression level rates with 21% of the state’s workforce currently out of a job. “The issues at Michigan’s unemployment agency have been an ongoing story, and instead of parading around on national television and competing for another job, Whitmer should be making this a top priority.” said Laura Cox, Michigan Republican Party Chairman. “Rather than joining Joe Biden’s podcast and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Whitmer should be focused on ensuring that struggling Michiganders... More >

The Michigan Republican Party released the following statement on behalf of Chairman Laura Cox regarding presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden’s one-on-one with Fox 2 Detroit tonight. “Whether it’s his weakness on China, adopting the Democrat party’s toxic liberal agenda, or his gaffes and lies – Joe Biden would be a complete liability to our country in every way if he was ever elected President of the United States. In these last four years, the state of Michigan has experienced unprecedented prosperity under President Trump, and I know that this November Michiganders will vote for four more years of a proven track record of promises made, promises kept.” More >