LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has stepped down, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer has already announced his replacement.
Robert Gordon announced his decision Friday afternoon on Twitter.
“Today, I am resigning from the Whitmer Administration. It’s been an honor to serve alongside wonderful colleagues. I look forward to the next chapter,” Gordon tweeted.
In a lengthy statement later Friday afternoon, the Governor said Gordon resigned and she accepted his decision. She did not cite a reason for the departure or thank him for his service in the statement.
In a tweet issued about an hour after the original press release announcing Gordon’s departure, Whitmer thanked Gordon for his service.
Gordon’s resignation came hours after he signed a new public health order allowing bars and restaurants to reopen at 25 percent capacity February 1, but continues to ban contact sports, like high school basketball and wrestling through at least February 21.
A Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Gathering Guidelines graphic published January 22, 2021 (courtesy of MDHHS)
Whitmer appointed Elizabeth Hertel as his replacement. Hertel currently serves as the Senior Chief Deputy Director for Administration for MDHHS, where she oversees External Relations and Communications, Finance and Administration, Legislative Services, Legal Affairs, Policy & Planning, Strategic Integration, Organizational Services, Workforce Engagement and Community and Faith Engagement. She is also the wife of state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., (D-East Lansing).
“As we work to ramp up distribution of the safe and effective COVID vaccine and end the pandemic, I am eager to work with Governor Whitmer and her administration to keep Michiganders safe and healthy,” said Hertel. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the department at this time. Michigan is faced with a crisis unlike any we have seen before, but our aggressive action against this virus is working. Let’s finish the job and end the COVID-19 pandemic once and for all.”
“Director Gordon should have resigned months ago after adding to an atmosphere of chaos in the Whitmer administration,” state Sen. Aric Nesbitt, a Van Buren County Republican, wrote on Twitter. “They failed on personal protective equipment and testing early on and repeatedly inflicted unnecessary damage on struggling small businesses.”
Michigan Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel (courtesy of the Michigan Executive Office of the Governor)
