Whitmer says the state will not close again following GOP lawsuits

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer suggested Michigan would not apply new COVID-related lockdown restrictions in response to a rise in new infections due to Republican-led lawsuits last year that questioned her constitutional authority to do so.

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Whitmer explained to host Chuck Todd the lawsuits had left her unable to separately carry out new COVID-19 lockdown measures shutting down businesses in the state. This despite experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying it is the best solution amid rising infection numbers.

“I have been sued by my legislature. I have lost in a Republican-controlled Supreme Court,” Whitmer told NBC on Sunday. “I don’t have all of the exact same tools [that I had 15 months ago].”

“It does sound like you’re saying, ‘My hands are tied,’” Todd said.

When Todd stated it sounded like the governor was implying her hands were tied, Whitmer responded:

“Well, at the end of the day, this is going to come down to whether or not everyone does their part. That’s the most important thing.”

In October, Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled Whitmer did not have the constitutional authority to continue extending a state of emergency declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, under which Whitmer enacted the state’s stay-at-home orders.

Michigan health officials recorded more than 9,800 new cases of COVID-19 in Michigan on Friday, one of the highest single-day totals the state has seen since the beginning of the pandemic.

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