Lee Chatfield

Six Michigan lawmakers disclosed positive COVID tests in November, and more await test results after exposure to Rudy Giuliani, who is now hospitalized. But GOP leaders don’t require reporting of positive tests, nor say how many lawmakers have the virus, which critics say imperils everyone who works in the Capitol.

After meeting with President Trump, the Republican House leader for the first time raises the possibility that a breakdown of Michigan’s elections process may create a ‘constitutional crisis’ that lawmakers must resolve.

Under a torrent of criticism, a contingent of GOP lawmakers meets with President Trump in Washington days before Michigan is to certify the presidential election. The lawmakers say they talked about COVID.

Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield sent a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Saturday, asking why state lawmakers, who were initially a focus of an alleged domestic terrorist attack, weren’t alerted to the plan earlier.

A Michigan Supreme Court ruling invalidating executive orders from governor also could jeopardize unemployment pay extensions. Tensions are flaring, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calling Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey an “anti-masker.”

House Speaker Lee Chatfield writes that Michigan is ‘worse off’ because Gov. Gretchen Whitmer chose a legal battle rather than uniting with lawmakers to fight the coronavirus. History shows there’s a better way, he writes.

Senate Majority Leader MIke Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield announced the Court of Claims lawsuit at the Michigan Capitol, acting on authorization granted by lawmakers last week.

Michigan Democrats, Republicans spar over a special session planned Tuesday about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s request for a 70-day extension of her emergency powers.

House Speaker Lee Chatfield wants Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to issue more executive orders to relax rules on health care, unemployment, child care and education. He also wants free hunting license and alcohol take-out for restaurants struggling to stay open.

As they return to Lansing this week, Michigan’s leaders are faced with tough questions on how to improve roads, education, skilled trades and more.

Testimony in state Rep. Larry Inman’s criminal trial for alleged extortion and bribery has showed unsavory side of Michigan’s political system. And Thursday, the case forced one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers to take the stand.

A federal judge on Tuesday denied an attempt by House Speaker Lee Chatfield to quash a subpoena ordering him to testify next week in embattled state Rep. Larry Inman's corruption trial.

County sheriffs, small schools, local governments and other groups grappling with state funding cuts may have to wait several more weeks for Michigan leaders to resolve an ongoing budget dispute.

For weeks, GOP leaders have said the state budget is in place, even though $1 billion of their priorities were cut and negotiations continue with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. At the core of the standoff is broken trust and the GOP’s insistence on capping how much money the governor can shift from department budgets.

Now that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has gone on a line-item veto spree, some $947 million in taxpayer money is unspent. Time is running out, but Whitmer says ‘all is not lost’ and there’s still an opportunity to salvage programs.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is left out of negotiations as legislators boost budget for state $15.2 billion. The budget doubles the number of literacy coaches, but critics say the funding isn’t enough to improve test scores.

State lawmakers are back in Lansing Tuesday. Here are some of the major priorities the Legislature expects to tackle before the end of the year.

The youngest Michigan Speaker in a century, Chatfield says humility gained through reading Scripture has helped him navigate the political minefields of divided government. The biggest test of his leadership skills is still to come.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has her own hurdles selling a gas tax hike. But as she notes, Republican leaders have yet to show how they would raise the more than $2 billion needed for roads as the Legislature breaks for summer recess.

Incarceration rates are down and our neighborhoods are safer. But there’s still more work to be done on criminal justice reform, say three leading Republicans.