Michigan GOP House speaker says he hasn't confirmed Trump's White House invite


Michigan's Republican House speaker and Senate majority leader are due to arrive at the White House later today — but at least one of them is still undecided.
On Thursday, President Trump invited Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield to the White House in what is seemingly an attempt to stop them from certifying the state's presidential election results. Instead, Trump would seemingly like the GOP-held legislature to pick the state's election winner, invalidating President-elect Joe Biden's 150,000-vote lead there.
But as Michigan's Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson learned during a CNN appearance Thursday, at least Chatfield hadn't decided whether he'd show up or not, and let Benson know in a text.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Michigan's Democratic congressional delegation meanwhile sent a pointed message to Chatfield and Shirkey on Thursday, saying they were aiding a "last-minute attempt to overturn the results of the election" instead of focusing on COVID-19.
And in a Politico opinion article published Thursday, University of Michigan law professor Richard Primus warned that the meeting not only "threatens the system of democratic presidential elections," but also puts the legislators at risk of a criminal investigation.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
The Week contest: Tornado wedding
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Real estate: A turning point for home prices?
Feature After soaring prices and bidding wars, homebuyers finally have the upper hand
-
Marfa, Texas: Big skies, fine art, and great eating
Feature A cozy neighborhood spot, a James Beard semifinalists, and more
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'