Michigan lawmaker sanctioned over ‘racist, hateful and bigoted speech’

• Michigan Rep. Josh Schriver losing committee assignments, staff and office funding after social media post denounced by colleagues
• House Speaker Joe Tate cites history of “racist, hateful and bigoted speech” by the freshman lawmaker
• At least two fellow Republicans have criticized Schriver and urged other conservatives to do the same

LANSING – Michigan House leadership on Monday announced professional sanctions against state Rep. Josh Schriver, an Oxford Township Republican who has refused to apologize after sharing on social media what colleagues on both sides of the aisle have decried as a racist meme.

House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, said he is removing Schriver from previously assigned committees, pulling his funding allotment for office functions and reassigning his staff because of what he called “racist, hateful and bigoted speech” by the freshman lawmaker.

Schriver “has a history of promoting debunked theories and dangerous rhetoric that jeopardizes the safety of Michigan residents and contributes to a hostile and uncomfortable environment for others,” Tate said in a statement. 

Schriver, who will still be able to vote in the Michigan House, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. 

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Nor did a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, who has not weighed in since Schriver endorsed the “Great Replacement Theory,” which falsely claims a concerted agenda to eliminate the white race through immigration. 

Other Republicans have criticized their colleague, however.  

“All people have a moral obligation to speak out against hate whenever it rears its ugly head – this is one of those times,” State Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, said in a Friday statement decrying the social media post by Schriver, who represents a nearby portion of Oakland County.

“Hateful rhetoric goes against everything I believe and distracts from the positive work we're trying to accomplish for the people of Michigan,” Steele said. 

In a weekend Facebook post, GOP Sen. John Damoose of Harbor Springs bemoaned Schriver's "sickening words," which he said have "nothing to do with the ideals we claim to uphold as Americans or conservatives."

"Republicans should know that anything other than a swift and strong rebuke of such filth undermines everything we say, everything we believe, and everything we are trying to accomplish in terms of rebuilding the 'shining city on a hill' to which we point so often,” Damoose added. 

Schriver has not directly discussed the controversy. But in a series of subsequent social media posts, he has accused the media of attempting to start a "race war" and alleged an "anti-white agenda" against those who have shared the theory.