After holding a majority in the State House of Representatives for the sixth time in a row, Republicans elected new leadership today (Thurs).
Representative Jason Wentworth of Farwell was elected to be the new Speaker of the House, following the end of Speaker Lee Chatfield’s term.
In a press conference Wentworth said healthcare and ethics reform would be priorities over the next two years, but called Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s request for a mask mandate codified by the legislature—a stunt.
“When in fact we’ve sent her plans prior to this and this is the one thing she calls out the legislature, and this is the one thing she calls out to the legislature and I believe at that point it looks more to me like a press stunt than it does an actual policy,” said Wentworth.
Currently, a statewide mask mandate is in place by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Thursday afternoon, the state’s Chief Medical Executive said if behavior doesn’t change, models show Michigan could see 100 deaths per day by the end of December.