Who’s acting governor while Gov. Whitmer is in Chicago for the DNC?

Gov. Whitmer and the five officials in line to be acting governor in her absence have all been at this week’s Democratic National Convention
Five others, including state Treasurer Rachael Eubanks, are listed as emergency interim successors
It’s uncommon for all individuals in the line of succession to be absent at the same time

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the top five officials in line to take her place have been spotted at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. So who’s running the store in Lansing? So far, nobody’s saying.

Under Michigan law, Whitmer’s powers and duties devolve to others in the line of succession if she’s traveling out of the state or “suffering under an inability.”

According to Article 26 of the State Constitution, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist would be next in the line of succession, followed by Secretary Of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel. Next in line would be Senate President Pro Tempore Jeremy Moss and House Speaker Joe Tate — but they all have attended at least some of the convention, which ends Thursday.

In 2019, Whitmer did designate five “emergency interim successors” who could step in if none of the “duly elected” successors are available. The first name on Whitmer’s list was State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks, followed by former Lt. Gov. John D. Cherry, Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans, Huntington Bank executive Gary Torgow and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

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The state requires the governor to appoint five additional people outside of those in line of succession to take her place in the event of a disaster. It’s unclear if an emergency successor would also step in if the top officials are all out of town.

Whitmer’s office did not return calls from Bridge seeking clarification, but the governor told The Detroit News she is “always the governor of Michigan.”

“Obviously, if there is something official that needs to be done I can get back over the state line in about an hour,” Whitmer said.

Steve Liedel, a Lansing-based lawyer who served under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said the situation “happens from time to time, that you have someone as acting governor, it doesn’t happen a lot.”

While it’s not as common for state officials to sign legislation on behalf of the governor, it has happened in the past.

In July Nessel signed a bill that allows homeowners to sell their homes without being locked into unfair contracts with real estate agents. Secretary Jocelyn Benson also signed legislation on Whitmer’s behalf in December.

“The governor can’t sign a bill from Chicago, her powers devolve to someone else,” Liedel said. “If there was something in the state the governor needed to deal with and she’s in Chicago, it doesn’t take that long to get back to the state from Chicago. You just have to cross the border … and the powers are right back.”

A constitutional amendment or a statutory change would be needed for Whitmer to carry out her duties while outside the state.

“It’s not that common for all of the folks in the line of succession to be gone,” Liedel said. “It tends to happen when you have one party in control of the state government and usually the reason that they’re all gone at the same time is conventions.”