The nation’s most divisive Governor, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan announced today her power will not be questioned during the Covid-19 pandemic and dared Republicans to do anything about it.

Whitmer declared her first state of emergency on March 10th right after polls closed on the Democratic Primary, giving her favorite candidate Joe Biden a big win. Her latest emergency/disaster declaration is set to expire at midnight tomorrow.

Senate Majority Leader, Republican Mike Shirkey offered the Governor a compromise on extending her emergency orders by working with the legislature, but the first term Democrat made it clear, she is not interested in any deals with her Republican counterparts.

In fact, she threw down the political gauntlet and pointed toward the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak in Michigan.

“I’m not going to engage in political negotiations with anybody. We don’t have time for politics and games when people’s lives are on the line. I’m gonna make decisions not based on negotiations but based on facts and science and data and risk.”

Governor Whitmer let the legislature know in no uncertain terms they are completely irrelevant in determining the future of Michigan. To use one of her favorite terms, the Governor has deemed Michigan Republicans ‘non-essential’.

Shirkey and the Republicans seemed shocked by the dismissive and demeaning comments from Whitmer which could place the state in a Constitutional Crisis by sunrise on Friday.

When asked today by Kyle Melinn of MIRS News, Shirkey said the Governor had given him, his colleagues and Michigan citizens a “double middle finger” instead of negotiating in good faith. Shirkey added that Whitmer is conducting herself as a dictator and ignoring the nature of the Michigan form of government.

Shirkey was clearly stunned when Whitmer released private emails between the two discussing the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak during an afternoon press conference on Wednesday. The discussions contained in the private exchange were focused on how to proceed and how to handle possible extensions of the emergency order. 

When asked about Whitmer making the emails public, Shirkey said, “How do you respond to somebody who just gave you a double middle finger?”

Shirkey went on to say, “she’s made it very clear for a number of weeks now, she is very comfortable being a dictator and this state was never ever intended to be run by one person.”

When pressed what will happen when the Emergency Order expires at midnight on Thursday, Shirkey would not say what will happen next. It is clear however, they both cannot be right.

While the Governor points to a 1945 Emergency Order law, Republicans say it is actually an updated statute passed in 1976 that actually addresses ‘epidemics’ among possible emergencies that could occur and that law limits the Governor to just 28 days under such an order without a blessing from lawmakers for an extension.

We will find out by Friday morning what happens next but without a resolution before then, the state is facing a serious Constitutional Crisis for the first time in its history.