The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled today on the question of whether or not Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers are legal, vindicating her despite the myriad protesters who argue she has overstepped her bounds.
Today, the governor’s office sent the following statement from Press Secretary Tiffany Brown ater the Court of Appeals ruled to uphold her emergency powers to protect Michiganders from the spread of COVID-19.
“Today the Court of Appeals handed the governor a complete and decisive win in her efforts to protect the people of Michigan from this once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. This decision recognizes that the Governor’s actions to save lives are lawful and her orders remain in place. As the Court concluded: “[T]he Governor’s declaration of a statement of emergency, her extensions of the state of emergency, and her issuance of related EOs clearly fell within the scope of the Governor’s authority under the EPGA.” (p. 21). She will continue to do what she’s always done: take deliberate, measured actions to protect Michiganders from this unprecedented threat. This lawsuit is a dangerous and costly attempt to take away the governor’s power to respond to the COVID-19 emergency and save lives. We owe it to our frontline heroes who have been putting their lives on the line to pull together as a state and work as one team to stop the spread of this virus.”
To view the court’s full ruling, click the link below:
COA-Ruling-on-Governors-Emergency-Powers
The Michigan Democratic Party released the following statement on behalf of Chair Lavora Barnes on today’s Court of Appeals decision and the Republican attempt to block Governor Whitmer’s use of emergency powers to save lives during the pandemic:
“We applaud today’s Court of Appeals ruling which rejects the Republican Legislature’s efforts to make it more difficult for Gov. Whitmer to keep us safe. Rather than helping to find solutions to the public health and economic crisis, Republicans are wasting taxpayer dollars, time, and resources to try to block the governor’s ability to save lives. It is nothing short of partisan brinkmanship and a political power grab by the Michigan GOP who want to hamstring the governor’s ability to protect public health and get Michigan’s economy moving again.”
