SE Oakland News

With calls for the impeachment of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gaining steam, Rep. Shane Hernandez (R-Port Huron) recently said that he supports forming a committee to investigate the matter.

Hernandez, who serves as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told West Michigan Politics that he would be in favor of a creating a committee charged with recommending whether the Legislature should impeach Whitmer over her handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Another option would be a censure of Whitmer.

Allegations against Whitmer include failure to properly handle the spike in unemployment created by coronavirus-related restrictions on the economy. Critics also allege that Whitmer’s policy regarding nursing homes and coronavirus put the residents in jeopardy.

Rep. Shane Hernandez | Michigan House Republicans

West Michigan Politics claims that Whitmer violated her own executive order on multiple occasions and raises an allegation that her approach to COVID-19 contact tracing only served to line the pockets of a Democrat-controlled firm.

"I think all of that needs to be looked into, and I think it will take months to get to the bottom of it," Hernandez told West Michigan Politics. "I would like to see the Select Committee on COVID-19 transition (to consider impeachment, or censure). I don't know how we'll ever get the data, but we sure need to try."

An impeachment under the Michigan Constitution necessitates a majority vote from the Michigan House of Representatives, but the Republican Caucus would also have to secure two-thirds of the votes in the state Senate to actually remove Whitmer from office.

Hernandez is seeking the U.S. Congressional seat in the 10th District, which is currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Paul Mitchell. Mitchell has been a longstanding critic of Whitmer’s actions as governor, even suing her in federal court to challenge her exercise of gubernatorial powers.