LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Democrats, recently hailed as a model of electoral and legislative success, are ending their final days with complete control of the state government, marked by divisions and outright rebellion that hampered voting on key issues Priorities blocked.
Tensions reached a peak Thursday when the House’s top Democrat turned away absentees and locked the doors, only to reverse course and end the year’s legislative session. Chaos erupted after a Democrat dropped out along with Republicans and the chamber no longer had enough members to vote.
“Everything that was on the House agenda today is dead,” House Speaker Laurie Pohutsky told reporters Thursday. “And the 55 members who were not present should feel free to own it.”
The unrest and recriminations in the final days of the legislative session highlight deep divisions within the Democratic Party over how to proceed after significant setbacks in November’s general election.
In addition to losing control of the House, Democrats watched President-elect Donald Trump dump Michigan en route to another term in the White House and faced recurrent criticism for their inaction earlier in the year met more often for meetings.
Two black Democrats were critical of the disruption this week, saying they had lost confidence in the party’s attention to the needs of black voters.
“I think if these needs were a priority, we wouldn’t have seen what happened on Nov. 6,” said state Sen. Sylvia Santana, who boycotted Wednesday’s Senate session.
Detroit Democratic state Rep. Karen Whitsett, who missed sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday, appeared Thursday with Republican Minority Leader Matt Hall and took shots at the Democratic leadership, a sign of growing unrest toward and within the leadership of the party.
Earlier this month, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat, announced he would run for governor as an independent in 2026, in part because of the “partisan, toxic atmosphere that we have.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat in her second term, had also told leaders of both parties not to expect her to sign any bills until her priorities are clarified for the first time. Whitmer wants increased funding for economic development projects and road repairs, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
And in a statement Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks said she was “deeply disappointed that the House has resigned.”
“‘Frustrated’ is too shallow a word to describe my dismay that the House has failed to fulfill its obligations at this historic moment,” said Brinks, a Democrat from Grand Rapids.
Pohutsky said the House is adjourned until Dec. 31, when the session is expected to formally end, effectively killing bills to expand public records to the governor’s office, ban ghost guns and protect reproductive health information.
Democratic House leadership consistently denied the split in the party and blamed absentee Republicans.
“The bare minimum they can do is show up,” Pohutsky told reporters before the House adjourned. “And I would say vote, but that remains a matter between them and their voters.”
Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement Wednesday that Whitsett and House Republicans’ absence was “criminal,” prompting fierce opposition from both sides.
House Republicans walked out of the Dec. 13 session saying they wouldn’t vote on anything except road funding and legislation that would address novel minimum wages and paid infirmed leave requirements. The caucus was absent Wednesday and Thursday.
Republicans are expected to regain control of the Michigan House of Representatives in January, ending nearly two years of Democratic legislative power.
“We will communicate with the other side. We will treat them fairly,” said Hall, the novel House majority leader. “If we treat members of the other party with respect, we will never be in this situation and that is what we want to do next year.”
