(WWJ) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did a 180-degree turnaround on her pledge to veto any state budget that did not contain a road fix.
Why? She's telling Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick she felt she had no choice. Republicans threatened to shut down the government if she stood by that pledge, she told Skubick, and that was a chance she didn't want to take.
"The Speaker, at one point, said he's got members of his caucus who would just relish a shut down," Whitmer told Skubuck. "That kind of talk is destructive."
Budget negotiations continue this week.
The town is abuzz with discussion about the way Whitmer handled the negotiations over the budget and roads. At one point, surrounded by Republicans, the governor announced she was the only adult in the room.
Needless to say, that didn't play well.
Does she regret what she said? Whitmer laughed when Skubick posed that question.
"No, I don't think so," she said.
The budget deadline is Oct. 1.
The move to approve a framerowk that does not include a roads fix came last week despite Whitmer saying she won't sign a budget unless it includes a "real fix" to boost spending on roads and education. She had proposed a 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax hike to fund road repairs and to reverse the diversion of other funds to the transportation budget
