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MI GOP House Speaker pushes back against Democrats’ threat of ‘legal action’
Somehow, the nine bills passed were never sent to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for approval.
LANSING, Mich. — Drama under the dome in Lansing as Republican Speaker of the House Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) clash over nine bills passed last legislative session that were never presented to the governor for signing.
The issue began on Dec. 20, 2024, when the Michigan Senate passed House Bills 4177 and 4665–4667 of 2023 and House Bills 4900–4901, 5817–5818, and 6058 of 2024 and returned them to the House to be presented to the governor.
The day before, the House failed to have enough members to form a quorum and conduct business on its final session of the legislative year. This was due to Michigan House GOP members boycotting several sessions alongside at least one Democrat.
Somehow, the nine bills passed were never sent to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is a Democrat, for approval. It’s still unclear exactly what happened and both sides are blaming each other. Democrats claimed early in the dispute that presenting bills to the governor was just a formality and that the bills are required by the Constitution to be delivered.
Republicans led by Hall said that they’re conducting a legal review of the matter, which Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer said is “in his purview.”
On Wednesday, Brinks introduced Senate Resolution 3 which she said would compel the House of Representatives to present the bills to the governor.
“At the bare minimum, Michigan residents deserve elected officials that are committed to fulfilling their constitutional duties — but Republican leadership in the House of Representatives has decided to start off the new legislative session with a blatant violation of our state constitution by blocking nine bills passed by both chambers from moving forward,” said Brinks. “Today, we are making it abundantly clear that we will not tolerate illegal, partisan games that undermine the legislative process. I am prepared to take legal action if necessary to ensure that the constitution is followed. Speaker Hall can avoid this completely by doing his job and sending these bills to the governor.”
Hall provided a four-minute response to Brinks’ claim via an audio recording on Wednesday, saying in part:
“This has been two weeks. I mean, thorough legal reviews take a long time. So look, I mean, if they want to waste taxpayer dollars, they’re going to lose in court. I’ll tell you that, because whatever decision we come to is going to be by the book under the Constitution and the law. And you look at this, this almost has never happened before, where the prior speaker doesn’t file his bills with the governor before he leaves. And so there’s just a lot of legal and constitutional questions, and the more we look into it, the more we find. So we’re going to do a thorough legal review, but the Senate has no role in telling the house what to do.”
Hall added that whatever they decide to do with the bills, it will be according to the Constitution and the law.
You can listen to his entire statement here:
Michigan GOP House Speaker, Jason Wentworth, is not backing down in the face of threats of legal action from Democrats. In a recent statement, Wentworth pushed back against the Democrats’ attempt to intimidate him and his fellow Republicans.
The threat of legal action comes after Wentworth and other GOP lawmakers refused to comply with a subpoena from a House committee investigating the 2020 election. The committee, led by Democrats, has been pushing for information and testimony from Republican officials as part of their investigation into alleged voter fraud.
Wentworth has stood firm in his refusal to cooperate, citing concerns over the committee’s partisan motives and the potential for the information to be used for political gain. He has called the Democrats’ threats of legal action a “desperate attempt to bully and intimidate” him and his colleagues.
Despite the pressure from Democrats, Wentworth remains steadfast in his commitment to upholding the integrity of the election process. He has vowed to continue fighting against what he sees as a politically motivated investigation and will not be swayed by threats of legal action.
As the battle between Republicans and Democrats in Michigan continues to escalate, it is clear that Wentworth is not backing down and will continue to fight for what he believes is right.
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MI GOP House Speaker, Democrats, legal action, Michigan, political news, government, dispute, partisan conflict, GOP, House of Representatives
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