Rick Pluta

Ann Arbor

Managing Editor at WUOM-FM (Ann Arbor, MI)

Senior Capitol Correspondent and Producer at Michigan Public

Contributor at WEMU 89.1

sometimes I forget how to tweet

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Articles

Michigan House Oversight Committee votes to authorize subpoena against Benson

1 week ago | wemu.org | Rick Pluta

The Republican-led Michigan House Oversight Committee has authorized a subpoena targeting Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for refusing to share election training materials with lawmakers. House Republicans and the Democratic Secretary of State, who is Michigan’s top election administrator, have been trading jabs for weeks. Benson has accused the committee’s GOP leadership of stoking doubt about the security of Michigan’s elections while the lawmakers say her refusal to cooperate raises doubts.
Whitmer says she was surprised to be on camera in Oval Office visit

1 week ago | interlochenpublicradio.org | Rick Pluta

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she was caught by surprise last week to walk into the Oval Office for a meeting with President Donald Trump to find she was in a televised press conference. The New York Times published a striking photo of Whitmer trying to hide her face behind a blue folder. She told the Detroit Economic Club that people ask “what was going through your mind at that moment and it was ‘I don’t want my picture taken.’ That’s all it was.
MI House Oversight Committee votes authorizes subpoena against Benson

1 week ago | michiganpublic.org | Rick Pluta

The Republican-led Michigan House Oversight Committee has authorized a subpoena targeting Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for refusing to share election training materials with lawmakers. House Republicans and the Democratic Secretary of State, who is Michigan’s top election administrator, have been trading jabs for weeks. Benson has accused the committee’s GOP leadership of stoking doubt about the security of Michigan’s elections while the lawmakers say her refusal to cooperate raises doubts.
Whitmer says she was surprised to be on camera in Oval Office visit

1 week ago | michiganpublic.org | Rick Pluta

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she was caught by surprise last week to walk into the Oval Office for a meeting with President Donald Trump to find she was in a televised press conference. The New York Times published a striking photo of Whitmer trying to hide her face behind a blue folder. She told the Detroit Economic Club that people ask “what was going through your mind at that moment and it was ‘I don’t want my picture taken.’ That’s all it was.
Big Gretch’s Big Gamble: Whitmer Goes to Washington

1 week ago | interlochenpublicradio.org | Zoe Clark |Rick Pluta

Hi! You're reading the It's Just Politics newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the It's Just Politics podcast for all the political news you need each week. Let’s call it Whitmer’s wild day in Washington, where she finally delivered what was supposed to be a very serious address to establish her bona fides on dealing with economic uncertainty, practical politics and displaying some foreign policy chops on a national platform.
Appeals court: Open meetings act does not require spoken testimony

1 week ago | michiganpublic.org | Rick Pluta

Two gun-rights groups are determining their next steps after the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected their argument that legislative committees violated the state’s open meetings law while considering firearm restrictions. The challenge filed by Michigan Open Carry and Great Lakes Gun Rights relates to 2023 House and Senate hearings the groups argue were tilted in favor of gun control advocates.
Michigan Supreme Court strikes down automatic life without parole for 19, 20-year-olds

1 week ago | wdet.org | Rick Pluta

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for 19- and-20-year-old defendants violate the state Constitution. The majority decision by a divided Supreme Court held that the sentences constitute “unconstitutionally harsh and disproportionate punishment” and will require resentencing hearings for roughly 580 prisoners convicted of murder.
Big Gretch’s Big Gamble: Whitmer Goes to Washington

1 week ago | wnmufm.org | Zoe Clark |Rick Pluta

Hi! You're reading the It's Just Politics newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the It's Just Politics podcast for all the political news you need each week. Let’s call it Whitmer’s wild day in Washington, where she finally delivered what was supposed to be a very serious address to establish her bona fides on dealing with economic uncertainty, practical politics and displaying some foreign policy chops on a national platform.
State supreme court strikes down automatic life-without-parole for 19-, 20-year-olds

2 weeks ago | michiganpublic.org | Rick Pluta

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for 19- and-20-year-old defendants violate the state Constitution. The majority decision by a divided Supreme Court held that the sentences constitute “unconstitutionally harsh and disproportionate punishment” and will require resentencing hearings for roughly 580 prisoners convicted of murder.
Whitmer delivers policy address in DC, meets with Trump

2 weeks ago | michiganpublic.org | Rick Pluta

Governor Gretchen Whitmer spent Wednesday in Washington D.C. to deliver an address where she warned about the dangers of sweeping tariffs before heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump. At an event held a couple of blocks from the White House, Whitmer – in a speech billed “Build, America, Build” -- warned that tariffs are a tax that are passed along to consumers and would have sweeping affects across the economy.