Michigan Democrats Call On Shirkey To Resign After Comments

LANSING, MI — Michigan Democrats called on Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) to resign Wednesday following his controversial comments suggesting the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill were a hoax as well as other sexist remarks.

Shirkey was secretly recorded while having a conversation with members of the Hillsdale County Republican Party in which he said the riots have "been a hoax from day one." Shirkey doubled down on his comments Wednesday morning, captured in a hot mic moment telling Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist he doesn't "take back any of the points I was trying to make."

"(Shirkey's) actions have undermined our democracy, encouraged militia groups, and brought shame to Michigan," reads a tweet posted to the Michigan Democrats Twitter account. "That is why we are urgently calling for his resignation."

Shirkey said the insurrection was staged by opponents of former President Donald Trump in a video posted on YouTube by a user with an account name of R.O.A.R. (Reclaim Our American Republic). The story was first reported by the Detroit Metro Times.

“That wasn’t Trump’s people. That’s been a hoax from day one," Shirkey said in the video, which was posted on YouTube. "That was all prearranged. It was arranged by somebody who was funding it."

The video was recorded during a conversation between Shirkey and members of the Hillsdale County Republican Party, which was criticizing him for what they called innacation after the administration of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and executive orders issued amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The recording all captured discussions between Shirkey and the group leading up to its decision to censure him for not taking enough of a stand against Whitmer. He defended himself by saying he and other GOP lawmakers had done everything could do to fight back against Whitmer's administration.

“(We) spanked her hard on the budget. Spanked her hard on appointments. We did everything we could constitutionally do,” Shirkey said in the video.

In his statement Tuesday evening, Shirkey said he was videoed in conversations "that are not fitting for the role I am privileged to serve."

"I own that," Shirkey's statement read. "I have many flaws. Being passionate coupled with an occasional lapse in restraint of tongue are at least two of them."

Shirkey doubled down on his comments Wednesday, telling Gilchrist at the beginning of a state Senate session with a hot mic nearby that he doesn't "take back any of the points I was trying to make."

"I frankly don't take back any of the points I was trying to make," Shirkey told Gilchrist. "Some of the words I chose I do regret."

The conversation was captured live on Senate TV and posted on social media by reporters Simon Schuster and Nick Friend. Gilchrist later confirmed the comments in a statement calling Shirkey out for a "pattern of threatening, sexist comments."

“As elected officials, what we do and what we say matters, and that is true now more than ever as Michiganders look to us for leadership in steering the state through this ongoing pandemic and economic recovery," Gilchrist said Wednesday. "But rather than focus on these issues — getting vaccines for people, getting our kids safely back into the classroom and supporting our small businesses — the Senate Majority Leader has chosen to spend his time and energy fanning the flames of dangerous conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection in Washington, alongside aggressive, sexist threats toward the governor.

"This behavior is beneath the office he was elected to and the standard of decency the people of our state deserve."

In the past, Shirkey has made sexist comments toward Whitmer, calling her "batshit crazy" in 2019, according to the Michigan Advance, and meeting with right-wing extremist groups in September.