U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday praised the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down the Democratic governor’s stay-at-home order.
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Wisconson’s “Democrat governor was forced by the courts to let the state open.
“The people want to get on with their lives. The place is bustling!” Trump wrote in a tweet.
Trump has increasingly urged states to quickly proceed with reopening their economies, despite warnings from top public health officials that the country could face a second wave of the novel coronavirus if lockdown orders are eased too quickly.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is controlled by a conservative majority, sided with Republican legislators on Wednesday in striking down Gov. Tony Ever’s statewide order.
Evers said the decision has thrown “Wisconsin into chaos, putting public health and lives at serious risk.”
Local county-wide orders in Wisconsin’s major population centres remain in effect.
Meanwhile, local media reported that bars in Wisconsin immediately filled with patrons on Wednesday evening once the order was struck down.
Protests have increased against lockdown orders around the nation, while polling show a majority of Americans still support the public health recommendations.
On Thursday, armed protesters gathered again at Michigan’s state capitol building, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s strict stay-at-home orders have catalysed opposition.
At least one Michigan state lawmaker donned a bulletproof vest on Thursday, according to local media reports, as legislators and law enforcement debate their ability to ban weapons on capitol building grounds.
Much of the divisions about lockdown orders are taking place along partisan lines, with largely rural and Republican leaders saying strict lockdown measures should not apply to their communities.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned of grave economic consequences of the coronavirus fallout as his state faces a projected 53.4-billion-dollar budget fallout.
The governor said the state needed Congress to legislate new relief monies, while a revised state budget he presented on Thursday proposes a 10-per-cent pay cut to all state employees.
He said the California’s unemployment rate may reach 25 per cent.
“This pandemic is bigger than any one state, it’s bigger than any nation,” Newsom added.