Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer struggled to defend her administration on Wednesday when she was grilled over a scandal involving who was responsible for awarding taxpayer-funded coronavirus relief money to Democrat organizations and operatives.
Whitmer rushed to cancel the contracts on Tuesday after information surfaced online about who the entities were who were going to receive the funds.
When asked during a press conference on Wednesday about who was responsible for selecting the partisan organizations, Whitmer refused to answer and had to repeatedly look down at her notes.
&#8220;When it was brought to my attention, I told them to cancel it,&#8221; Whitmer claimed. &#8220;This was an unnecessary distraction. Leadership is about solving problems. The correct process was not followed.&#8221;
The Michigan Republican Party has <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/22/whitmer-disputed-covid-19-contract-killed-unnecessary-distraction/3004920001/">demanded</a> to see emails from Whitmer&#8217;s administration since has not been transparent about the matter.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer Claims She Doesn’t Know Who Sent Taxpayer Contracts To Democrat Organizations, Trump Hater <a href="https://t.co/r2AqrSRrk9">pic.twitter.com/r2AqrSRrk9</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1253080388219678726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
The Washington Free Beacon broke the story about the attempt by Whitmer’s administration to funnel taxpayer money to partisan groups.
“The Whitmer administration announced Monday that it had awarded a contract for contact tracing in the state to Every Action VAN, an arm of the Democratic data behemoth NGP VAN. The liberal firm works with all of the major Democratic campaign committees and hundreds of labor unions across the country,” The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/michigan-governor-whitmer-awards-coronavirus-contract-to-dem-consulting-firm/">reported</a>. “The move has sparked concern that she is using the coronavirus to strengthen the Democratic Party’s data operation, potentially at the expense of public health.”
“Whitmer’s own gubernatorial campaign paid NGP VAN nearly $5,000 in 2019, according to state campaign finance records. Every Action is a branch of the firm that works with nonprofit organizations,” The Free Beacon added. “Every Action’s other clients include the radical anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace, Planned Parenthood, and the left-wing National Women’s Law Center. Whitmer’s office did not respond to a request for comment, and the state has not disclosed the dollar amount of the contract awarded to the firm.”
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel highlighted an alleged Facebook post from a Democrat operative who also revived a contract from Whitmer&#8217;s administration that stated: “I hope [Trump] gets Coronavirus ASAP. Can someone do the country a favor and cough on that man.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kolehouse recently posted on social media that he hopes President Trump gets coronavirus.
This is who <a href="https://twitter.com/GovWhitmer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovWhitmer</a> is giving state contracts to? <a href="https://t.co/KTjPcepuFD">pic.twitter.com/KTjPcepuFD</a>
&mdash; Ronna McDaniel (@RonnaMcDaniel) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonnaMcDaniel/status/1252716862816870400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
Whitmer, who was once a rising star in the Democrat Party, is facing heat in her state for using the coronavirus pandemic to expand her power over the lives of her citizens.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/michigans-draconian-lockdown-provokes-a-backlash-11587163325">reported</a>:
<blockquote>Michigan now bans lawn and landscaping services, motor boating and golf. Large stores can’t sell paint, furniture or garden equipment. People aren’t allowed to travel between residences, which blocks them from visiting second homes and hunting cabins. Long-distance drives that don’t meet a “critical” need, according to the governor’s definition, are prohibited.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire highlighted earlier this week backlash that Whitmer faced after she tried to compare people being forced to obey her overreaching policies to Americans fighting in World War II.
Whitmer also said that her crackdown on her resident&#8217;s freedoms was okay because it was going to snow.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cites snow to defend her draconian stay-at-home orders &quot;cracking down&quot; on basic liberties<a href="https://t.co/5hypDvuMwW">https://t.co/5hypDvuMwW</a> <a href="https://t.co/IYhVyYlLSg">pic.twitter.com/IYhVyYlLSg</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1250448991227187200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
This report has been updated to include additional information.
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Governor Gretchen Whitmer Grilled Over Contract Scandal, Has To Use Notes To Answer