Welcome back to off the record overtime with a representative Democratic floor leader.

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

No.

It's incredible, isn't it?

That's one word for it.

Does the governor get any credit or blame for what happened here?

You know, I didn't engage wit her during the lame duck period, and we didn't have any interface with her as a caucus.

I'm sure that the speake and her had communication, but you'd have to take that up with her.

Well, would it have helped had she come into the caucus and said, Boys and girls, let's bow our heads and get this done?

You know, we're co-equal branch of government.

And I think that a lot of our colleagues wanted to set an agenda and move priorities that were important to House members, and that was the attempt.

But to reiterate the point, you know, we had no engagement with her during the lame duck period as a caucus and myself as an individual legislator.

So does that surprise you?

I mean, we have a trifecta.

So I think the expectation is the Democratic governor, the Democratic Senate in the House, can try to work together.

So to that point, one of the days, apologies, time is all blurred together.

Now.

Attorney General Dana Nessel got on Facebook and started posting that lawmakers who wer basically abdicating their job and not showing up in session, it was criminal.

How much, if any, did that play into caucus conversations and the inevitable sort of end to this year, considering I saw a number of your colleagues very displeased with the fact that the attorney general did weigh in that way.

It's unproductive if you're not going to help us move a priority across the finish line and move and negotiate.

Popping off on Twitter or Facebook is not helpful.

So like I said, we are a co-equal branch of governmen and the legislature legislates.

And any suggestio that our colleagues should go to jail is is an unnecessary accusation and unproductive in many ways.

Well, that still doesn't mean it's legal.

Then the attorney general, if she thinks it's illegal then she's the attorney general.

She can prosecute.

Do you wish that Democrats had challenged the governor more and put more things on her desk that she may not have necessarily been all the way in favor of?

I think there's an appetit amongst the Democratic caucus, certainly in the House.

I can't speak for the Senate to set our own agenda and move things forward that we believe is important to this state.

And we made an attempt to do that.

Now the question becomes, what get signed?

I think we have to wait and see.

But we I would absolutely say we have been cooperative partners, advancing priorities that were asked of us and sai this is important for the state.

We would have liked to see a little bit more reciprocity in that regard.

So can you guys work with Mr. Hall?

Will there be compromises and bipartisan support for stuff coming out of the Republican caucus next year?

I'm retiring December 31st, Tim.

I don't know.

We're going to have to ask the Democratic House.

But what's your gut tell you?

You know, I will say that Leader Hall has not shown any willingness to come to the table.

And on some issues, I like I said, on the signing day adjournment, we couldn' even reach a conclusion there.

So I will not be there.

And as a as a legislator.

So I can't answer that.

But I know that my colleagues in the House, particularly the Democratic Caucus, are still committed to getting work done.

And we still have a Democratic Senate and a Democratic governor.

So there has to be a willingness to come to the table.

What I was just going to say on that note of not being able to adjourn signing day.

Why come back New Year's Eve at 130?

Like, do you what do you know about the, I guess, thought process behind that?

I wasn't on the floor for that.

I was on fire negotiations.

I can't answer the specifics of that particular deal.

But speaking of floor activity, excuse me, yesterday, the decisio to move the call of the House, I guess there had been talks about wanting that for a couple of days, but it very abruptly happened after Representative Whitsett was already in the Capitol, I suppose.

Were you at all priv to the logic behind that call?

Did that catch you by surprise?

I suppose.

What kind of went into making that decision?

I was not a part of that.

That discussion as to why it happened.

It certainly caught me by surprise when it was brought before me and asked to please hold off so I can try to work with Representative Whitsett.

And by the time I'd gotten to her, I was informed that the call the house had been ordered, which was a surprise to me.

But I think that's the question I, the Speaker of the House, would have to answer.

To that point as well.

Speaker Tate was notably absent from speaking to any media members at all this week.

I suppose what do you wha do you have to say about that?

And to the point of him making a big grandiose statement on Twitter about leadership and needing to lead but then seemingly shying away from any public facing criticism there.

Well, what is your response to sort of that, that duality there?

I mean, we we had a Republican caucus that would not show up and even give us the ability to say, all right, if there's disagreements on moving legislation, can we at least bring people to achieve a quorum to adopt sine die and to adopt commemorative resolutions for outgoing legislators and to have farewell speeches and get them recorded in the journal?

That did not happen.

So even the the ending of o the House, where our colleagues that are not coming back to have the ability to say goodbye to their constituents, to the families, to the state of Michigan, which is a tradition tha has been launched long standing for centuries, unfortunately, is not something that was provided to our members, which is incredibl disheartening and disappointing.

So so what are you going to do after this sleep Bad question.

Let me rephrase your honor, after you sleep and get back to normal, what happens in the new year for you?

You know, I don't know yet.

I have I want to be a man that is happy, makes my mother happy.

That will figure out what to do with his eight years of remaining eligibility in the legislature and try to continue to do good work for the city of Detroit and my community.

So you're not ruling out a potential furthe legislative run in the future?

You know we are too soon to this session.

I mean, we're speculating on the governor' race, so we may as well right?

Well, you know, I've eight years of eligibility left, so we cannot we can cross that bridge when we get there.

Representative, what are you most personally disappointed didn't cross the finish line this the past two years.

When you look at ways to sho that we are in an institution, that that should earn the trust of constituents that you look at FOIA expansion.

I think that was something that I would have liked to see get done.

You know, I've as the reporters know, I'm pretty open and very direct in many in many ways.

And answering some some questions and sort of giving you folks an open inside look on how things happened and why things happened.

But certainly water affordability was heartbreaking to see not get done.

Legislation around protecting kids from fro tobacco and nicotine products.

It's a huge problem in the city of Detroit, where folks are sellin these products to underage kids.

And I think there's a flurry of bills.

You know, we still have to do more work and gun legislation, polluter pay, you know.

Protecting the environment is a huge priority for me and has been and I think protecting survivors of of auto auto injuries and those that have been abused sexually.

Those are all things that I think about and worry and obviously the fea of deportation for undocumented folks and unwillingnes for Republicans to not weaponize an issue that I think was just pure cowardice at that point where I had Republican colleagues telling me in private, we support allowing undocumented folk to get driver's licenses and IDs as a matter of safety and and a net positive for the state.

But for them to say we can't do it because we're afraid of Trump was very, very heartbreaking.

And there will be literally families ripped apart and ruined as as a result of not getting that done.

We're trying to go really quick.

In the issue of political capital.

Do you feel like you Democrats used political capital while this year?

Do you feel like they burned it instead of invested it?

I think we could have done a lot more.

And that is a sentiment for many House colleagues.

And, you know, power comes and power goes and the hope is at some poin we can earn the trust of folks.

But the Republicans for you for the last two years have been telling us what they could do and what they should do.

And now they have the opportunity to where the rubber meets the road to demonstrate that or will we see hypocrisy in political antics?

So the public will decide what the 103rd legislature does under a Republican House and a Democratic Senate and governor.

Representative, thanks for doing the program.

Thank you for having me.

Good to see you.

What did people tell you not to show up?

I heard you were into a call the house.

Let's let it go at that.

Okay.

Thank you.

Sir.

Yeah.