Michigan House Oversight Committee Chairman Steve Johnson (R) sent a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) Monday urging her to repeal remaining coronavirus restrictions after Breitbart News caught her violating them this weekend.
Whitmer and a group of 12 others hit the Landshark bar in East Lansing Saturday, violating her own order regulating how many patrons can sit at a table. Unlike previous hypocrisies, Whitmer apologized and blamed her action on being “human.”
Monday, Johnson sent a letter, obtained by Breitbart News, that acknowledged Breitbart’s report and said Whitmer’s action was “in direct violation of the updated restaurant capacity orders that your administration issued on May 15.”
That order capped a restaurant table’s capacity at six diners.
“You did not receive any fine or citation for violating your own orders even though your administration has had no problem penalizing Michiganders who made the same mistake you made,” Johnson wrote.
“Governor, it is time for you to lead with your actions and not just empty words,” the committee chairman wrote.
Johnson said in light of Whitmer’s “hypocritical action,” he called on Whitmer to do the following:
- “Refund any and all fees and fines associated with businesses that did not comply with your administration’s (coronavirus) guidelines”
- Instruct business regulators “to drop any legal action against individuals or business owners who failed to follow these guidelines”
- “Immediately lift” the remaining restrictions on businesses and restaurants
To that point, the Associated Press reported Whitmer rescinded “the rule she violated at the bar.”
“A revised order no longer includes the six-patrons-per-table provision, effective June 1. The state health department issued it Monday,” it said.
“The hypocrisy out of this administration is out of control,” Johnson told Breitbart News.
“It’s time for Gov. Whitmer to give the same treatment to small business owners as she gets. Whitmer needs to refund all fines on businesses that violated her (coronavirus) mandates like she herself has done.”
When questioned by a reporter Monday, Whitmer attempted to turn her hypocrisy into an advertisement for the bar.
“We have not gone forward and penalized businesses that are trying to do the right thing,” she said, making an exception for those that she decided had “flouted” her orders.
“I don’t know that there’s a lot more for me to add at this point in time other than those former [Michigan State] Spartans, or I guess you’re a Spartan for life, who know the establishment should be aware that it is now a restaurant and they have pretty good pizza,” Whitmer said.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays–download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.