Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is taking her attacks against President Donald Trump on tour, launching the first of what’s expected to be many town halls in Grand Rapids this past Saturday.
“In the United States, we have three coequal branches of government and, I don’t know if Congress knows it, but they are one of ‘em,” Nessel posted to X on Saturday. “Executive orders are not laws. Full stop.”
In Grand Rapids, Nessel elaborated on numerous lawsuits she’s filed to challenge Trump’s executive orders since he took office in January, which include litigation centered on the end of birthright citizenship, federal funding cuts and freezes, the Department of Government Efficiency, and the closure of the Department of Education, WZZM reports.
“I might not like a policy, I might hate a policy, I might think policies is [sic] damaging to our state. But that’s not the litmus test for me. It’s got to be number one, is it illegal what you’re doing? And number two, can I trace that executive action to concrete, specific harm to the state or its people,” said Nessel. “And so with that, we began to file lawsuits.”
Michiganders online noted Nessel seemingly used a different litmus test just five years ago, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic edicts forced COVID infected patients into nursing homes, shuttered family businesses, blocked kids from attending schools, and restricted Michigan residents’ most fundamental human rights.
“Rules for thee but not for me,” one X user posted in response to Nessel on Saturday, along with a screen shot of a 2020 press release from Nessel titled “AG Nessel Confirms Executive Orders Enforceable; Attorney General Sends Guidance to Local Authorities.”
The release focused on the Michigan Legislature’s refusal to extend Whitmer’s emergency and disaster declarations, and requests for Nessel to clarify whether those executive orders remain in effect.
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“After reviewing the issue, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a letter of guidance today to local law enforcement officials across the state,” the May, 2020 press release read. “In her letter, Nessel finds the two orders to be valid under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act and asks local law enforcement agencies to continue their enforcement efforts.”
Nessel’s opinion was followed about five months later by a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that found the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act unconstitutional because it delegated legislative power to the Executive branch, violating the Michigan Constitution.
Lawmakers ultimately repealed the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act in 2021 after opponents gathered enough signatures to put the repeal on the ballot.
Nessel followed up that decision by attempting to revive the case with the Michigan Supreme Court and filing criminal charges against organizers of the successful ballot initiative.
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Nessel’s office also targeted Michigan residents who refused to comply with Whitmer’s pandemic edicts, which deemed marijuana and liquor essential, but most family businesses expendable.
Among those targeted was Angela Rigas, who received a misdemeanor citation with a potential 90-day jail sentence for daring to offer free haircuts during a Capitol rally in 2020.
While the charge was ultimately dismissed, the ordeal compelled Rigas to run for office in 2022, and in January she was named chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Weaponization of State Government after winning a second term.
“In 2020, I was targeted simply for standing up for my rights, receiving a ticket for peacefully protesting and later facing an attempt by Attorney General Dana Nessel to strip me of my professional license,” Rigas said. “I fought back and won in court, but many others aren’t as fortunate. As Chair of the Oversight Subcommittee on the Weaponization of State Government, I will make sure no Michigander has to endure similar politically motivated attacks. The people deserve a government that serves them, not one that silences and punishes dissent.”
Rigas’ subcommittee is now digging into how Nessel runs her office, starting with a recent request for an array of documents detailing the AG’s bungled Flint Water Crisis prosecutions.
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., cited the Flint Water Crisis among numerous examples of what he described as Nessel’s lawfare tactics against her political opponents when he announced plans for increased oversight in December.
Others include her prosecutions of 16 Republicans who backed President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, several election clerks and voters in St. Clair County last year, and Republican fundraising consultants Heather Lombardini and Sandy Baxter, whom Nessel alleged failed to properly disclose money raised to oppose Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s unilateral edicts during the pandemic.
“Michigan residents have entrusted House Republicans with a mandate for truth and transparency,” Rigas said. “There’s significant public interest in these prosecutions, which have been going on for years. Citizens have a right to see how their tax dollars were spent, and we’re going to help them get the answers.”