State Rep. Jack O’Malley, of Lake Ann, today issued the following statement after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declined an offer to testify before the Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic:

“When our select committee met with the state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency and Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to ask about COVID-19 decision-making and preparedness, we heard a lot of ‘that would be something to ask the governor.’

“We have tried to do just that by inviting her into testify, so I am disappointed she has decided not to participate – only days after she was willing to share her thoughts with the United States House of Representatives.

“We’re ultimately going to have to hear from the governor on what went into decisions that made nearly 1.8 million people seek unemployment claims. She’s going to have to explain why she instructed nursing homes to accept COVID patients when we knew which segments of our population were especially vulnerable. We all will need to be carefully walked through the data behind the decisions that have touched both families and family businesses alike. Clarity and transparency will need to be provided for the many concerns being shared with us by Michigan residents – pending lawsuit or not.

“All roads lead back to the governor. That was inevitable once she decided to act unilaterally and work around the Legislature to tackle the public health emergency that threatened our state. The buck stops with her.

“The governor has labeled herself as one who is willing to make tough decisions. But she needs to answer the tough questions that she alone created.”