(Source: MIRS.news, Published 12/19/2024) The Democratic-led House's lame duck implosion wrapped up Thursday when House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) and Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) failed to come to an understanding as to what should and would be taken up on the floor. 

The Democrats needed all 56 members to appear on the floor to take action, since the Republicans were protesting en masse over the Democrats not taking up legislation to restore the tip credit and adjust the paid sick leave policy. 

For her part, Whitsett boycotted the session after last Friday night over House leadership not prioritizing a growing list of issues, and appeared to be set to not leave her Detroit home again Thursday. From that point on, House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) tried to negotiate with her. He continued to stay in communication with her every day, working on a list of bills that would get her to return to session. The extent to which he over-committed to what was possible has since been questioned. 

Meanwhile, other members contacted Whitsett, too, to keep the lines of communication open, with varying levels of success. For all members, leadership stressed that they not criticize Whitsett in the press or on social media. 

Whitsett didn't attend session Wednesday and wasn't going to come to Lansing on Thursday either. It was until Detroit School Board member and former state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo personally showed up at Whitsett's house Thursday morning and pleaded with her to come to session to secure legislation to help Detroit schools and other priorities. 

Gay-Dagnogo drove Whitsett to Lansing, and was let into the House parking lot by House Republican staffer Annette Glenn, a former state Rep. and personal friend of Whitsett. The three then entered the Capitol, at which point Glenn led Whitsett into the office of House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Township). 

Hall has been talking with Whitsett for several weeks, as former GOP House Speakers Lee Chatfield and Jason Wentworth did before him. Whitsett has been helpful to the former Republican leaders in the past. In exchange, the Republican speakers made sure Whitsett's district was taken care of. 

In fact, on Wednesday night, as pressure was mounting for Whitsett to return to session, she conceded that “Matt Hall was a rock.” 

Outside of a supplemental, water affordability legislation, criminal justice reform, help for the Detroit public schools and other issues important to the Black community, Whitsett added to her list of demands the tipped wage and paid sick leave . . . the two big issues the Republicans wanted to address. 

Upon Whitsett entering Hall's office, MIRS observed Aiyash enter the office as well to go over the game plan with Whitsett. He assured Whitsett there would be no Call of the House, which would have meant she would have been locked into the chamber indefinitely. 

But moments later, Tate issued a Call of the House. One source suggested the reason was because Rep. Peter Herzberg (D-Westland) was not on the House floor because of his opposition to one of Whitsett's priorities, legislation that would have created a fund to help low-income residents pay their water bill. The legislation came with a $1.25 charge on residents' water bills. 

Herzberg appeared on the House floor, but the Call of the House upset Whitsett, who felt she was instantly being deceived. Gay-Dagnogo was heard in the hall outside of Hall's office laying into Aiyash over the Call of the House. He pleaded in response that he had nothing to do with it.  

At a certain point during the Call of the House, MIRS watched Chief House Sergeant Jon Priebe enter Hall’s office. Once in there, he notified those in the office that there was a Call of the House and walked out. Hall said he didn’t speak with a sergeant.  

MIRS has learned that Priebe was preparing plans to fully execute the Call of the House by bringing members onto the floor when the Call of the House was lifted.  

Still, Whitsett and Tate tried to work something out, but in the end it was “too much” for everyone involved. Hall said Whitsett was asking Tate and leadership to come down to Hall’s office to negotiate.  

Tate ended session until Dec. 31. Whitsett and Hall went to the House floor to hold a press conference. Tate left for his Capitol office and stayed there until House Democrats who aren't returning next year were giving their goodbye speeches. 

“The door is closed on session because, frankly, Republicans and their leadership and Rep. Whitsett didn't come to work," Tate said. 

 Herzberg, also, left the chamber and left before hearing the goodbye speeches from Aiyash, Rep. Jaime Churches (D-Wyandotte) and Rep. Jim Haadsma (D-Battle Creek), among others. 

House Clerk Rich Brown told MIRS that without an adjournment resolution, the House will not adjourn sine die, or without date, and that House session will just end at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31. Attorney and longtime former House staffer Bruce Timmons said the House is violating the constitution by holding sine dine past noon on Dec. 31. 

“(There's) no precedent for what is happening to be sure, but I think House has it wrong to plan session for 1:30 p.m.,” Timmons said. 

After Whitsett left on Friday due to a medical emergency, she said Tate didn’t give an explanation to the caucus that would leave them with any other impression of her besides her walking out on them, not wanting to vote. She mentioned Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Belleville) as well, who is recovering from surgery.  

“I stayed here, even though (it was) for one bill, one that they never put up. They kept telling me five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. No care that I'm in pain. Poor Reggie Miller, they didn't care about her and that she should not be here. But she toughed it out. So you let her sit there for 13 hours. This is torture,” Whitsett said.  

Whitsett said caucus members were told to say or do whatever they had to, to get her to come in. She said this whole situation makes it look like the Republicans care more about Black people than Democrats do.  

“Just remember, y’all fucked over DPS … and I will never forgive you,” Gay-Dagnogo shouted over an empty chamber from the gallery.  

Whitsett said Gay-Dagnogo has done everything possible with the Speaker to bring money to Detroit for schools. 

“These are all promises never kept. This is the poorest leadership I have ever seen in my six years. It’s a doggone shame (that) in order to get help on issues, I had to go to the Republican leader. What does that say about (Tate)?” Whitsett said.  

Whitsett said all Tate wanted of her was to push the button for bills that he knows have not been vetted and were discharged from committee without testimony. She said bills that have been passed were the work of the people whose names are on them, not Tate. 

“I wanted all my colleagues to know, this wasn’t me. This was not me. He would not negotiate. The Speaker would not negotiate in good faith. They told me – they promised me they weren’t gonna lock me in here. And that’s exactly what they did, and I hadn’t even spoke to anybody,” Whitsett said.  

Regarding Attorney General Dana Nessel’s social media post yesterday about the criminal penalties for an elected official not performing their duties, Whitsett said it’s amazing to her that Nessel didn’t make that comment about Republicans or Rep. Rachel Hood (D-Grand Rapids) when they protested. 

“But I can be, as always, the Black woman (that) always gets it up here in Lansing. And I can’t believe the Speaker of the House, Joe Tate, is this way so heartless,” Whitsett said. 

Hall said Democrats were trying to bait and switch Whitsett with bills they had no intention of moving, such as the water affordability package on which Herzberg was allegedly a no vote.  

“They’re misleading and lying to her . . .  I’ve watched what they’ve done to Rep. Whitsett over the last few days. I’ve watched them surround her at her desk, I’ve watched them bully her, I’ve watched them lie to her,” Hall said. “When she told me that she made the decision to come up here to Lansing because she wanted to fight for the people of Detroit and her district, and get some specific issues done for Detroit, I told her she was welcome in my office and I would help her get those done, even the ones I don’t agree with and I’m not gonna vote for.” 

When asked, Hall didn’t definitively say whether the water affordability package would be taken up as written in the new term. He said he’ll work with Whitsett and listen to the Detroit delegation, and that many people believe Detroit does better under Republican House leadership even though Tate is from Detroit. 

Herzberg told MIRS that he was not against the water affordability bills, he was in fact supportive of almost all of it. He simply wanted an amendment that would put the surcharge into the base charge of ratepayers' bills so that it didn’t stand out. His concerns were that if the surcharge was a line item, it would become political over time, and legislators looking to lower water bills would target the charge and get rid of it.  

Also, he pointed out that if the bills were passed on Thursday, the Senate would have to come in on Christmas Eve under the five-day rule to pass that chamber, which he said didn’t make any sense. Herzberg, as did Tate, left the building before House Democrats listened to the farewell speeches of members who aren’t returning.  

Aiyash said in response that Herzberg is being dishonest. 

“I offered him every possible amendment and his response was, ‘Even if Joe Tate offered me a $50 million appropriation, I’d still be a no," he said. 

Aiyash put the House adjourning Thursday squarely on Herzberg's feet, saying if he had negotiated in good faith, affordability could have survived. 

In the aftermath, a failure of communication among those involved was a universal theme among House Democrats MIRS spoke with. The session failed, they said, because Tate had not created strong relationships with Whitsett and other members, causing fissures within the caucus. 

Frustrations mounted and instead of addressing them, Tate ignored them or pushed them aside, which created more or deeper fissures. 

Some members, like Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) and Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph) voiced their displeasure on social media. Whitsett sought and found a willing listening ear in Hall.  

Members believe the session was destined to fail due to these fissures, one way or the other. The governor wasn't in the picture. The speaker isolated himself and everything deteriorated. 

Rep. Emily E. Dievendorf (D-Lansing) said it boiled down to a lack of leadership, “We have a speaker who stopped communicating with anybody a long time ago. 

“We’ll keep working on it. Honestly, what I am optimistic about is that, as huge of a loss as it is, us having a majority and not being able to do so much of what our communities need, at this point, at least we are unified in what direction we have. We've learned a lot, and we’ve got to do better, because there is no other choice. We got to focus on the folks who need us the most.” 

“I am devastated,” said Rep. Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield). “Joe Tate couldn't even be bothered to listen to his outgoing members' farewell address today. What a disgrace. There is nothing salvageable from his legacy as speaker. Nothing. Nothing could be worse than what happened this week.” 

“Watching the Republicans pass bills that offend me and my principles next term will be nothing compared to watching my own caucus fail to use the power it was given by voters to help people's lives. We've had a Republican caucus within our Democratic caucus.”  

As a result, all 83 agenda items – everything on Thursday’s House agenda is dead – and House Speaker Pro Tem Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) said the 55 absent members of the House should “feel free to own that.” 

Those Senate bills on the agenda included banning guns from the Capitol, bolstering the 340B drug affordability program, creating a water affordability program and numerous other public health bills. According to a source, an estimated 40% of the bills on the agenda never had a committee hearing. 

Aiyash said they couldn’t even get Republicans to agree to come in to vote on an adjournment measure that would allow clerks time to process paperwork.  

Aiyash said goal posts shifted during negotiations that led to conversations falling apart. Other members agreed with that sentiment. 

“We got 56 members, and people think they’ve got too much power. Keep moving the goal posts. I didn’t expect it. I thought we’d get a little done, at least,” said Rep. Tullio Liberati, JR. (D-Allen Park). 

Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) said, “It seems like we had a member hold us hostage and we couldn’t get anything done. It’s unfortunate for everybody because I think a lot of our good pieces of legislation got booted to the back, and now it’s moving.”  

Rep. Nate Shannon (D-Sterling Heights), “I think (leadership) probably could have agreed on some of the things that (Whitsett) wanted to see put on the board, but when you keep moving the goalposts, when does it end?”