LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer began her second term Sunday by calling on state leaders "to come together to get things done," including reducing gun violence, investing in education and tackling climate change.
Whitmer, a Democrat and former state lawmaker from East Lansing, took her oath of office outside the Michigan Capitol. With temperatures hanging in the high 30s, the inauguration event marked a drastic change in state government with Democrats taking control of the Legislature for the first time in 40 years.
New House Speaker Joe Tate, a Detroit Democrat, and new Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, a Democrat from Grand Rapids, spoke at Sunday's ceremony, along with Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, three Democrats who were reelected on Nov. 8.
