Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) is expressing his frustration with the state Supreme Court after it made the decision to block his effort to extend the state’s stay-at-home order on Wednesday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
MSNBC’s Ali Velshi asked Evers if he is able to make interim orders or orders that expire after a certain amount of time and what happens next for Wisconsin.
“We’re the wild west, Ali, there are no restrictions at all across the state of Wisconsin,” Evers said, adding, “At this point in time, there is no orders. There’s nothing that’s compelling people to do anything other than having chaos here.”
Watch his comments below:
Evers issued a series of tweets reiterating his disappointment with the decision.
I am disappointed in this decision, but our top priority has been and will remain doing what we can and what we have to do to protect the health and safety of our state. After months of unproductive posturing, I hope the folks in the Legislature are ready to do the same.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 14, 2020
Folks, deadly viruses don’t wait for politicians and bureaucrats to settle their differences or promulgate rules. This virus has killed more than 400 of our family members, friends, and neighbors and thousands more across our state are sick.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 14, 2020
From keeping our kids home from school to staying safer at home, we cannot let today’s Supreme Court ruling undo all the work we have done and all the sacrifices Wisconsinites have made over these past few months.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 14, 2020
Velshi pressed Evers on what his next steps are and what authority he has left.
“Well, we have no authority right now. It’s been taken away,” Evers said. “So we’ll meet with the legislatures. The Republicans have never had a plan. We keep asking for it. When they took us to court and sued, they said they had a plan. Haven’t seen that yet either.”
Evers echoed his thoughts during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon.
He said the court’s decision puts the state “into chaos.”
Check out the interview below:
"It's a bad day for Wisconsin."
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) May 14, 2020
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers tells CNN's @DonLemon that the state's Supreme Court decision to overturn his administration's stay-at-home order "puts our state into chaos." https://t.co/vgyCXPk4mM pic.twitter.com/13HYKOpnFV
Evers noted as the state begins to open up, there will be a spike in the number of coronavirus cases.
He confirmed Wisconsin has met the guidelines issued by the White House as the state’s residents have done “exactly what they needed to do.”
According to Evers, schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year.
“It’s my concern that all the good work that we’ve done is going to go to waste,” Evers said.
As of Thursday morning, Wisconsin has nearly 11,000 positive coronavirus cases and more than 400 deaths.