Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Vetoes Bill to Prevent COVID-19 Patients From Being Housed in Nursing Homes
Shane Trejo
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed a bipartisan bill on Friday that would have protected the elderly and vulnerable by banning COVID-19 patients from being quarantined in nursing homes.
“Protecting the health and safety of nursing home residents and their staff continues to be a top priority for my administration,” Governor Whitmer said while announcing her veto.
“Senate Bill 956 is nothing more than a political game that would relocate vulnerable seniors without any requirement for consent, doctor’s approval, or notification to patients and their families. It’s time for the Republican legislature to get serious about protecting our most vulnerable and addressing the public health and economic crisis faced by our state. We look forward to continuing our work with stakeholders and legislators on the task force to develop real solutions that make sense for Michigan seniors and their families,” she added.
Senate Republicans are firing back at Whitmer for her cruel and callous decision to veto the common sense legislation.
“In a mean-spirited move, Gov. Whitmer announced she vetoed a plan that would have prevented COVID-19 patients from entering our nursing homes,” they wrote.
“Only a few governors had allowed this reckless practice in the first place, and all except Gov. Whitmer have since changed course and stopped the practice, including embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo,” Senate Republicans continued.
“Gov. Whitmer should be ashamed, and she certainly is acting like it. Her veto decision was hidden in a late Friday afternoon news release with a headline announcing something entirely different,” they added. “But make no mistake. The governor owns her veto and the abhorrent policy that has contributed to the deaths of thousands of people.”
Big League Politics has reported on how Democrat lawmakers from Detroit, the city hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic in the state, have come out against Whitmer for her dismal leadership throughout the crisis.
“Why the state of Michigan has chosen this path is beyond me,” said state representative Leslie Love, whose elderly mother contracted COVID-19 while housed in a nursing home. “It seems like the most idiotic thing we could come up with.”
State representative Karen Whitsett, whose life was saved from a COVID-19 death sentence due to use of the miracle drug hydroxychloroquine, was punished by Whitmer for crediting Trump for recommending the treatment.
“There’s so much more to this story, and it’s shameful on the Democratic Party,” Whitsett said last month. “Let’s be serious and use some common sense here.”
“The resources we’re supposed to have he told me quite frankly are supposed to come from the Governor and the Governor is not painting the same picture to him or the Vice President,” she added. “I believe this is the Governor. She has decided that she is going to slap me on the wrist by silencing me. It’s a shame that she’s doing this. It’s politics at its best.”
Whitmer will continue to punish Michigan residents while sending elderly patients to their graves as she auditions to be presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick.
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