In May 2020, Shirkey appeared onstage at an American Patriot Council rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan with William Null and Adam Fox. In October 2020, William Null, his twin brother, Michael Null, Adam Fox, and 10 other men were charged in a plot to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. In early April 2020, Shirkey criticized Governor
Gretchen Whitmer for extending a "
stay home" order until the end of April. Shirkey opposed face mask requirements in Michigan. On December 23, 2020, Shirkey tested positive for
COVID-19. He believed he was exposed to the coronavirus on December 19. On December 21, Shirkey attended
Lee Chatfield's farewell speech at the
Michigan State Capitol. Shirkey characterized his COVID-19 illness as him having fought against the "Chinese flu army"; his remarks were criticized as xenophobic. In April 2020, Shirkey's business, Orbitform, received $1.8 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. In January 2021, Orbitform received another $1.7 million in PPP loans, for a total of $3.5 million. During this time, Shirkey led the Michigan Senate to block allocation of $4 billion in federal COVID reliefs funds for food and rental assistance. Although Shirkey claims to not be involved in the day-to-day management of his company, several of his family members (including son David Shirkey, grandson Karter Fannin, and Mark Shirkey) are employed at Orbitform in management positions. In February 2021, Shirkey falsely claimed that the
January 6 United States Capitol attack was a "hoax", that it was "staged", and that supporters of Donald Trump did not carry it out. In a February interview with radio station
WKHM, Shirkey falsely claimed that dead people voted in Michigan in the 2020 elections. In 2021, Shirkey led efforts in the Michigan Senate by Republicans which according to the GOP are aimed at securing elections in Michigan, Democrats and other critics have called these efforts by Republicans a push to restrict voting rights. In April 2021, Shirkey accepted an invitation to meet with militia leaders. During the meeting in Grand Rapids, Shirkey told the militias, "We need you now more than ever to continue to train" and "to stand up and test that assertion of authority by government". The Associated Press described the event, stating, "Michigan's GOP leadership has for the first time in memory bestowed legitimacy on its state's militia, long relegated to the shadows" and indicative of the rightward shift of the Michigan GOP after the 2020 elections. Shirkey was ineligible for re-election in
2022 due to term limits. He also shared an anecdote about noticing warmth in a Senate bathroom and reaching his hand into a Senate toilet to test the water temperature. He said, "I put my hand in it, and it was hot water. So I went back to the office and said, 'Please, get a hold of maintenance staff around here and ask them why taxpayers are paying for hot water in our toilets." ==See also==