After Michigan’s Republican-controlled legislature denied Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s request to extend her declared state of emergency, Whitmer decided to extend it anyway, unilaterally forcing businesses and venues to stay closed through the end of May.
This was an extraordinary power grab, the likes of which “the state of Michigan has never seen,” state House Speaker Lee Chatfield told the Washington Examiner.
The state legislature had proposed a compromise to Whitmer, offering to extend her emergency powers as long as Whitmer agreed to give lawmakers greater oversight regarding how those powers were used.
Whitmer, who was famously unable to get along with the legislative branch even before this, didn’t just privately reject this compromise. She released her staff’s email exchanges with GOP lawmakers without obtaining permission to do so. She then declared that she would continue to use her emergency powers regardless of what the state legislature decided.
“We extended our hand to her yesterday, and she rejected it,” Chatfield told me.
Whitmer’s unwillingness to work with the other branches of government is “disappointing,” Chatfield added. But it’s also problematic because the power Whitmer claimed for herself, the ability to extend Michigan’s state of emergency without legislative approval, does not exist.
Whitmer’s authority is limited, even though the magnitude of this public health crisis has necessitated a stronger executive response. Right now, Whitmer’s emergency powers depend on two laws: the Emergency Powers Act of 1945 and an updated Emergency Powers Act passed in 1976. Whitmer is relying on a generous interpretation of the 1945 law, which grants emergency powers to the executive in times of civil unrest. It does not mention contagious diseases or global pandemics.
But the 1976 bill does specifically mention pandemics. What’s more: The 1976 bill clearly states that any additional powers granted to the executive in times of emergency have an expiration date and that after 28 days, the executive must return to the legislature for an extension of those powers.
There is simply no way to square Whitmer’s actions with the law as written. Her reading of the law is a half-hearted attempt to justify an obviously unconstitutional abuse of power. She is quite literally making up the rules as she goes.
To block Whitmer’s overreach, the state legislature authorized a historic lawsuit to keep her in check. She left lawmakers “no other choice,” said state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey. And unless Whitmer can reach an agreement with the legislature in the next few days, the lawsuit will more than likely move forward.
“It’s disappointing because we could have avoided this,” Chatfield said. “No one wants to go through a judicial battle in the middle of a pandemic. We should all be working together because a crisis like this requires unprecedented partnership.”
Whitmer isn’t interested in working with anyone who might disagree, which she’s made quite clear throughout her tenure. It’s a failure of leadership. Once again, her refusal to build consensus has upended the state’s balance of power completely. This is an unacceptable overreach that must be checked. No governor has the right to rule by fiat, no matter how dire the crisis.
Laws exist for a reason, and if Whitmer can’t respect them, she should find a different occupation.
