Republican members of Michigan’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives have chosen to “rise up” against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her controversial lockdown restrictions by plotting her impeachment.

Led by state Rep. Beau M. LaFave, on Wednesday the trio introduced four Articles of Impeachment against Whitmer for “failing to respect the separation of powers by exercising power granted to the legislative branch, violating the constitutional rights of the people of Michigan, issuing executive orders against the interests of the people and state, and using state resources to reward political allies.”

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“Over the course of eight months, I have watched powerlessly as the governor has used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to trample over the constitutional rights of Upper Peninsula families and the great people of Michigan,” LaFave said in a statement Wednesday.

“For eight months, the governor has set out on a quest of corruption; exceeding her constitutional duties, disregarding the separation of powers, ignoring the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling, weaponizing the state’s health department, and rewarding political allies,” he added.

He added that “people are hurting” because of Whitmer’s power grabs, and clearly “statewide petitions and costly lawsuits are not sending a strong enough message to the executive office.”

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Michigan has reported a spike in coronavirus cases four times the number of daily cases seen during the first spike this spring, totaling more 303,000 cases reported so far and more than 8,500 deaths.

In response, the governor and state health officials instated the “Pause to save lives” order and closed indoor eating at restaurants and bars, along with limiting residential gatherings through the Thanksgiving holiday to two households at a time.

But not all of Michigan’s GOP agree with the calls for impeachment and Michigan House Speaker, Rep. Lee Chatfield, R, called the move a “distraction from the real things we have to get done in our state.”

“We’re not the party that impeaches someone because we’re upset with policies that they’ve enacted,” he told local news outlet Michigan Live. “I thought it was shameful what the Democrats did to President Trump last last year, and I would I would assume that any attempt by Republicans right now, with the current set of facts that we have to impeach the governor, would be on the same level.”

Chatfield and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said they were frustrated that the governor had ordered the partial shutdown on her own but said they were eager to work in a “bipartisan way,” according to Fox News.

“As always, we stand ready to act in a bipartisan way when the governor decides it is worth her time. Until then, we are still reviewing the details of this order like everyone else,” Chatfield reportedly said in a Sunday statement.

This is a developing story. 

 

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