Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer rushed to cancel coronavirus contracts that she awarded Democrat consulting firms after she was blasted for trying to use taxpayer money for partisan gain during a national crisis.
“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 reported. “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.”
The organization is run by Stuart Trevelyan, who worked in the Clinton White House and who is reportedly helping presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden’s campaign.
“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.”
The Free Beacon also reported that Whitmer gave a contract to Great Lakes Community Engagement, which is run by Democrat consultant Michael Kolehouse. Kolehouse owns a firm that works to help elect far-left Democrats.
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel highlighted an alleged Facebook post from Kolehouse that stated: “I hope [Trump] gets Coronavirus ASAP. Can someone do the country a favor and cough on that man.”
Kolehouse recently posted on social media that he hopes President Trump gets coronavirus.
This is who @GovWhitmer is giving state contracts to? pic.twitter.com/KTjPcepuFD
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 21, 2020
Wes Nakagiri, a local county commissioner, told the Free Beacon, “I’ve been involved with grassroots activists for a little over a decade. I’ve never seen anything like this on the conservative side of the ledger, where you’ve got this entity working with governmental bodies, dumping huge networks of information into one database. They’re asking for contact information, they’re asking for who else lives in the house—it’s troubling that this information is being stored in a Democrat-aligned database.”
Michigan GOP state Rep. Shane Hernandez wrote in a letter to Whitmer, “I want to know how Gov. Whitmer’s administration decided to hire this company without a competitive bid process, or letting the Legislature — charged with ensuring accountability within state government — know about it. I want to know what safeguards the governor has in place to ensure the information gathered during this COVID-19 response doesn’t wind up in the hands of any campaigns.”
Whitmer’s office rushed to cancel the contracts after being caught trying to funnel taxpayer money to the Democrat data group and operative.
“This contract should have been approved by the State Emergency Operations Center,” a Whitmer spokesperson told Fox News’ Gregg Re. “This issue is being corrected, and a different vendor and software platform will be selected by the SEOC. The state is committed to ensuring this important tracing work can begin quickly to help save lives, while also ensuring that public health data is safe and secure.”
Just the latest embarrassing episode from Governor Whitmer, who has had misstep after misstep since she stepped into the national limelight. https://t.co/hB6TbqfUyf
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 21, 2020
Whitmer, who was at one point a rising star in the Democrat Party, has seen her administration surrounded with growing dissatisfaction over how she has handled the coronavirus outbreak in her state, where she has struggled to make good decisions.
Whitmer has aggressively expanded her control over her residents’ lives in wake of the outbreak in her state, which is one of the worst in the country. The Wall Street Journal reported:
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.
Whitmer was met with overwhelming backlash on Monday night after she tried to compare people having to obey her overreaching orders to fighting in World War II.
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