(WWJ) President Donald Trump is calling the state Supreme Court ruling, which voided Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive orders, a "BIG win for the people of Michigan."
Retweeting a video of Whitmer speaking on the topic at a new conference, Trump wrote, Wednesday morning:
"We just got a BIG win for the people of Michigan. Open up your Churches and your Schools. Auto companies pouring in and expanding (thank you Mr. President!). Have fun!"
To be clear, Michigan churches were not shut down under Whitmer's executive orders, and individual school districts were allowed to decide whether to reopen or not during the pandemic.
In his tweet, Trump is referring to last week's court decision that the 1945 emergency law allowing Whitmer to continue to issue executive orders, without the input of the Legislature, is unconstitutional.
Whitmer tweeted a short time later, " Mr. President, millions of hardworking Americans are relying on you for a COVID-19 relief package. Get to work."
Speaking Tuesday, the governor stressed that, although she lost her power to issue COVID-19 executive orders, the Supreme Court ruling did not mean her interpretation of the law was wrong."And what this ruling also does not mean is that all the protections that we put in place are gone; that's just not the case. We have additional authorities that I will use to continue to protect our families from the threat of this virus," Whitmer added.
Whitmer also stressed that the statewide mask mandate, along with restrictions restrictions on gathering sizes and businesses, remains in effect by order of the health department.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon, acting under another law not affected by the court's ruling, this week re-issued those orders.
Going forward, Whitmer said she wants to worth with the Legislature on COVID-19 rules and regulations, calling on legislatures to cancel their October break and return to Lansing to get it done.
This is not the first time Whitmer and Trump have found themselves at odds during the pandemic. Early on, Whitmer criticized the federal government for, among other things, its failure to quickly send states needed PPE and supplies. She also called on Trump to issue a federal mask mandate, which he did not.
In September, Whitmer said called President Trump the 'biggest threat to the American people' for his handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
