Macomb Today

Michigan Sen. Dan Lauwers (R-Brockway Township) is in agreement with a lawsuit against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, claiming she is choosing to defy state laws and making reckless decisions for the state.

State Republican legislators filed a lawsuit against the governor last month, which claims that extending the shutdown is unconstitutional, according to Bridge Michigan. Republicans are also calling Whitmer's efforts "unenforceable."

Michigan Republicans feel that Whitmer's power is getting out of hand, and she should be required to make decisions with the help of Republican lawmakers. They feel the approach to COVID-19 responses should be collaborative. 

“It’s a sad day for our state, because we truly should all be working together,” House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) said in a press conference, according to Bridge Michigan. “We believe this is a necessary step to ensure that millions of people in our state have their voices heard.”

Lauwers is in agreement that Republicans and Democrats should be working together during the coronavirus pandemic and even pointed out that the governor has done so in the past.

“The governor could choose to continue to work with us, as she has in the past," Lauwer said to MiSenateGOP. "But she has decided to defy state law and make these decisions unilaterally."

While other Republican lawmakers expressed similar remarks, Sen. Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) doesn't encourage Michigan residents to create chaos when going against Whitmer's orders.

“I am not encouraging any civil disobedience or mass chaos at this point,” he told Bridge Michigan. "But I think these orders are legally questionable. That’s why we are going to court.”

Attorneys have chimed in as well, agreeing that Whitmer is abusing her powers.

“Then a state of emergency or disaster can exist forever, as does her power to rule the state via executive order,” attorneys from the Troy-based Bush Seyferth law firm told Bridge Michigan. “That is a staggering abuse of power.”

While a lawsuit isn't an ideal way for Whitmer to include Republicans in pandemic decision-making, Lauwer said the only response Republicans can take against Whitmer, since she continues to refuse to work with them, is to file the lawsuit.

“Michigan is in the middle of not only a health crisis, but an economic one. Our governor’s reckless decision to act apart from the input of the Legislature is costing Michiganders dearly," Lauwer said on MiSenateGOP. “Our only recourse to help ensure that the Legislature has a voice in helping restore commonsense decisions backed by science is to file this lawsuit."