Updates About Governor

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced last week that the state’s Director of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Elizabeth Hertel, will be stepping down at the end of June.

Elizabeth Hertel has served as the top MDHHS official since 2021. She oversaw the department’s transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the development of two state psychiatric hospitals, expansion of substance use disorder programs, and the state’s response to recent federal Medicaid and SNAP changes. One of her major priorities has been restructuring Michigan’s behavioral health system, including efforts to rebid the state’s prepaid inpatient health plans, though implementation of those changes has been delayed following court rulings.

Her successor, Amy Epkey, will begin the role on July 1. Epkey is currently the senior deputy director of the financial operation administration within MDHHS. Hertel said that she plans on relaxing post-budget and spending time with family during the summer months before figuring out what comes next in her career.

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently vacated the convictions of Joseph Morrison. Morrison was a member of the Wolverine Watchmen militia group and was convicted in 2022 for providing material support for an act of terrorism, gang membership felonies, and felony firearm charges in connection with the 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The three-judge panel was unanimous in their decision that ruled kidnapping does not qualify as a violent felony under the statute that was used to support Morrison’s terrorism conviction. His terrorism conviction was used as the underlying offense for the gang membership and felony firearm convictions, meaning they also had to be vacated. The court sent the case to Jackson County Circuit Court for a new trial, finding that jurors on the original trial may have relied on kidnapping as the underlying violent felony when reaching their verdict.

The decision came under heavy criticism among Michigan’s elected Democratic lawmakers. Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that her office intends to appeal the ruling.

Governor Whitmer recently signed legislation allocating $152 million for infrastructure upgrades at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in preparation for a new mission. The signing ceremony took place at the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, where Whitmer thanked both President Biden and President Trump as well as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for the effort.

The funding will be used for various upgrades, repairs, and construction projects such as runway improvements and new jet hangars. Whitmer and Brigadier General Daniel Kramer stressed the importance of the investment to both Macomb County and Michigan’s broader economy and military future.