BELLEVUE — Governor Inslee made several comments disparaging our Republican leaders and the millions of Republican voters across our state. The Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) Chairman Caleb Heimlich issued the following statement in response to these blatantly false partisan attacks.

When asked about ending Washington’s State of Emergency, like other Democrat Governors around the country are doing, Governor Jay Inslee launched into an anti-republican tirade saying that “Republicans in this state have followed [Trump] and continue to follow him, continue to refuse to stand up to his coup attempt.”

Governor Inslee continued, “We need [this Emergency Order] to protect hospitals, to protect employees, and apparently Republicans don’t care about employees who want to wear their masks. We respect working people – sometimes they don’t […] I am standing up for working people’s ability to wear masks. I am sorry they don’t share that view.”

“These statements made by Governor Jay Inslee are not only blatantly false – but they help contribute to the political divide in our country. When Governor Inslee talks about unity – he should first practice it himself,” Washington State Republican Party Chairman Caleb Heimlich said.

Chairman Heimlich continued, “While I am unsure how this relates to Emergency Powers reform, Republicans across our state denounced what took place at our nation’s capital on January 6^th. With a lack of legitimate justification for maintaining his Emergency Powers, this must be the best that Governor Inslee can come up with.”

“I want to make it clear to the voters: Republicans stand with workers across our state. If you want to wear a mask – wear one. We stood with both workers and employers through Governor Inslee’s multiple shutdowns of our economy which cost people their jobs. We stood with workers in pushing for much-needed tax relief across our state. We stood with workers against the payroll tax Inslee and Democrats continue to push as inflation rises. We stood with workers when Governor Inslee lost over $1 billion in unemployment funds to Nigerian scammers, which were vital for all the workers that lost their jobs – and we will continue to stand with them in their call to end Governor Inslee’s Emergency Powers.”

“Governor Inslee’s bizarre tirade against Republicans is certainly an odd justification for maintaining executive powers that should be delegated to our representatives in the Legislature,” Chairman Heimlich concluded.