Idaho Gov. Little picked right time to weigh in on Legislature’s misguided COVID effort

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has continued the tradition of his predecessor and mentor, Gov. Butch Otter, in not openly discussing the business of the Legislature, allowing the legislative process to play out without interference from the executive branch.

That tradition ended Friday, when Little delivered a blistering message aimed at Republican legislators seeking to end the governor’s emergency declaration related to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are in the final lap of the pandemic fight and the finish line is close. We are so close to returning to normal,” he said. “But all that success is threatened by the actions taking place in the Legislature right now.”

Little picked a heck of a good time to break with tradition.

He’s 100% correct and right to make this appeal. Little laid out the case why we still need an emergency declaration, just like every other state in the nation. He laid out the case that Idaho would lose much-needed federal funding.

He pointed out the emergency declaration does not shut down the state, it does not shut down businesses. If anything, this editorial board has been critical that the governor hasn’t done enough.

Ending the emergency order would be dangerous. It would jeopardize tens of millions of dollars in federal funding and jeopardize the work being done by the Idaho National Guard. And it would send a horrible message that somehow all is well.

Idaho National Guard Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak detailed the numerous tasks and duties the Idaho National Guard has executed because of the emergency orders, including distributing and administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

“In order for the National Guard to respond to domestic emergencies beyond 72 hours, a formal disaster declaration is required by law,” Garshak said. “Also, a critical factor to consider is cost. During the emergencies, such as COVID-19 pandemic an emergency declaration is necessary to receive state and federal disaster response funding.”

The House Republican Caucus made a feeble attempt at responding to Little’s speech.

“The inflammatory comments from the Governor’s office do nothing but complicate the process,” according to a statement after Little’s speech.

This comes just a day after a member of that House Republican Caucus, Majority Leader Mike Moyle, said, “I didn’t get elected to come down here and sit around and let the governor be king.”

Talk about inflammatory comments.

On Friday, after Little’s speech, the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry issued a statement cautioning against eliminating the emergency declaration. And a group of leaders from Idaho’s top businesses, including Simplot, Idaho Power and Micron, issued a statement supporting Little and keeping the emergency declaration.

“Idaho Governor Brad Little recently issued a stark warning about the efforts taking place in the Idaho Legislature to rescind the federal emergency declaration for Idaho’s coronavirus response,” according to a written statement. “We join the governor in his opposition of this effort and share his concern for the grave consequences it would have for Idaho businesses and our employees.”

While some Republicans in the Idaho Legislature use their own inflammatory language and foment imaginary scenarios of Gov. Little being a “dictator” and shutting down businesses, Little was right to call them out.

If legislators won’t listen to the governor, they should listen to Maj. Gen. Garshak, who delivered a straightforward, practical, nonpolitical message.

“In my opinion, it would be negligent to cancel the emergency declaration at this pivotal moment,” Garshak said, “denying the citizens of Idaho the necessary support to ensure their health, safety and welfare.”

We agree.

This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 1:54 PM.