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Michigan Senate backs health director appointed by Whitmer

The Republican-led chamber endorsed the governor’s appointee 18-16 Tuesday, with Democrats and some GOP senators voting yes.

Credit: AP

In a photo from Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, provided by the Michigan Office of the Governor, Elizabeth Hertel, director of the state health department addresses the state. State health officials said Friday that Michigan has capacity to vaccinate up to 80,000 people a day but the supply of COVID-19 doses, while higher in recent weeks, remains limited. They also said their goal is to ensure no one has to travel more than 20 minutes to a vaccination site in the pandemic. (Michigan Office of the Governor via AP)

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate has supported Elizabeth Hertel as state health director, backing a key figure in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Republican-led chamber endorsed the governor’s appointee 18-16 Tuesday, with Democrats and some GOP senators voting yes.

Hertel took over the state Department of Health and Human Services in January following the abrupt resignation of Robert Gordon and has gradually loosened restrictions designed to curb COVID-19.

Many Republicans opposed Hertel, voicing long-running frustrations that Whitmer used the health department to issue orders after the Michigan Supreme Court struck down a law that underpinned her edicts.

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