LANSING — House Speaker Lee Chatfield is facing a backlash after suggesting Attorney General Dana Nessel and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are driven by emotion on the Enbridge Line 5 tunnel issue.

Critics said Wednesday that Chatfield, without any basis, drew on a stereotype about women that is used to undermine female political leaders.

Chatfield rejected the criticism, through a spokesman.

In a Monday radio interview on the Frank Beckmann Show on Detroit's WJR-AM (760), Chatfield, R-Levering, said “we all want to protect the Great Lakes," but "we also have to use sound science when we’re trying to do that, Frank, and we can’t be driven purely by emotion."

Chatfield said the state can't "simply make decisions without having a fallback plan," and "my question, you know, to the governor and to the attorney general, is: What’s the plan?”

Chatfield was questioning how propane, which is carried by Line 5 along with crude oil, would be delivered to Michigan residents who rely on it for heating if Line 5 is shut down. But Whitmer has not yet moved to decommission the pipeline, despite repeated calls from environmental groups for her to fulfill a campaign promise by doing so.

Chatfield made his remarks after Whitmer ordered state agencies to halt work on a proposed Line 5 tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac.

Whitmer's executive directive was issued March 28, soon after Nessel, a fellow Democrat, released a 24-page, highly technical legal opinion that said 2018 legislation to allow for the tunnel violated the state constitution.

More:Here's what's next in fight over Enbridge Line 5 pipeline in Straits of Mackinac

More:Attorney General Dana Nessel: Legislation to allow Line 5 tunnel is unconstitutional

Erin Cassese, an associate professor of political science at the University of Delaware who studies gender and politics, said "characterizing female leaders’ decisions as emotional is a gender-based criticism because it draws on ... old stereotypes about women and emotion, many of which stem from an earlier time in our nation’s history when women didn’t have full citizenship rights."

By saying that Whitmer's decision was based on emotion, rather than the contents of the attorney general's opinion, Chatfield "implies that she's erratic or irrational," Cassese said Wednesday.

"The idea that women are emotionally or temperamentally unsuited for politics is an old trope often used to undermine women’s leadership and authority."

Jean Sinzdak, associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said Chatfield's remarks amount to "an unfair but predictable attack," and "it's a shame that it's coming up in this day and age."

By dismissing what they say as emotional, rather than criticizing the substance of their arguments, Chatfield plays on the stereotype that women "can't be in charge of things because they're too emotional," Sinzdak said.

Gideon D'Assandro, a spokesman for Chatfield, said the criticism of the speaker's remarks is ridiculous.

"The speaker is making the same argument he's made for years while in office: In looking for ways to protect the Great Lakes and still deliver necessary energy resources, it's important to be governed by science," D'Assandro said.

"He believes the decision by the AG and subsequent order by the governor put hundreds of thousands of Michigan citizens at risk, and he's going to continue fighting for the underground corridor because it's the best solution."

To read "into his statement any more than that is even more political than the original decision itself," D'Assandro said.

Chatfield said on the radio that the part of the constitution Nessel cited in declaring the tunnel legislation unconstitutional is intended to make sure lawmakers and the public know what the Legislature is voting on. In this case, both the lawmakers and the public were aware, he said.

Nessel has no idea what Chatfield was talking about when he referenced being driven by emotion, spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney said Wednesday.

"We followed the law — which is devoid of emotion," she said.

Whitmer has "no clue" what Chatfield was referencing and has "nothing to add in response to his remarks," spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said.

Nessel commented on Twitter after Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, described her opinion as "shameful."

"The one thing he doesn't say is that my opinion is wrong," Nessel said in one tweet.

"Want laws to withstand constitutional scrutiny?" Nessel asked in another tweet. "Pass better laws. R’s (Republicans) believe in strict construction of the Constitution. Until they don’t."

Contact Paul Egan at 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter. Staff writer Nancy Kaffer contributed to this report.