Governor Tony Evers WRN image
Governor Tony Evers said Tuesday that the Republican effort to block his extended “Safer at Home” order through the Wisconsin Supreme Court sends a clear message.
“Legislative Republicans are telling those . . . four-thousand six-hundred plus people in the state of Wiscnsin who have contracted COVID-19, and the families of those 242 people that have died, “‘we don’t care about you, we care about our political power,'” Evers said during a call with reporters.
Wisconsin is a place for kindness, compassion, empathy, and respect, and today, Republicans have shown that even in the midst of a global pandemic, these values are beyond them.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) April 21, 2020
The Supreme Court, which has a 5 to 4 conservative majority, gave the state Department of Health Services until next Tuesday to respond to the lawsuit, and Republicans until two days after that to respond to DHS.
Evers believes the justices are “in a position to make the right decision,” regarding the legal challenge to the extension, which has been ordered by acting Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm.
“They understand the importance of science, they understand the importance of making sure that the people of Wiconsin are safe,” he said “And frankly, they understand that by delaying efforts, people are going to die.”
Speaker Robin Vos (WRN image)
Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald argue Evers “Safer at Home” is too restrictive on areas of the state with far fewer cases of COVID-19 than in Madison and Milwaukee.
Palm last week extended the order until May 26th. GOP leaders contend that will drive many businesses under, and leave the state’s economy in shambles.
Joint statement w/@SenFitzgerald:
“The governor has denied the people a voice through this unprecedented administrative overreach. Unfortunately, that leaves the legislature no choice but to ask the Supreme Court to rein in this obvious abuse of power.” 1/2— Speaker Robin Vos (@SpeakerVos) April 21, 2020
Tuesday saw 121 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, another 41 hospitalizations, and 12 deaths, according to the daily update by DHS.