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CAROLINE, WHAT ARE REPUBLICANS PREPARED TO DO? >> JUST LIKE WHAT WE SAW WITH THE ELECTION REPUBLICANS ARE GEARING UP TO TAKE THIS TO COURT. THEY WANT THE BUSINESSES LIKE THOSE HERE IN BAYVIEW TO OPEN SOONER THAN MAY 26. STATE REPUBLICANS ARE FIRING BACK AGAINST GOVERNOR EVERS. THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY CRITICISING HIS SAFER AT HOME ORDER EXTENSION THROUGH THE END OF MAY. >> THINGS WON’T GET BACK TO NORMAL UNTIL THERE IS A VACCINE AND TREATMENT FOR THIS DISEASE. EVEN THEN, OUR NEW NORMAL WILL NOT BE THE SAME AS OUR OLD NORMAL. >> GOING TO MAY 26, LIKE I SAID, WELL BEYOND WHAT EVEN NEW YORK IS DOING, WHICH IS THE HARDEST HIT STATE, MAKES NO SENSE. >> STATE SENATOR DAVID CRAIG IN A STATEMENT CALLED ON THE SENATE TO FIRE SECRETARY-DESIGNEE, FIRE SECRETARY-DESIGNEE ANDREA PALM, SAYING "SHE HAS ONCE AGAIN ACTED FAR BEYOND HER AUTHORITY AND THE LEGISLATURE MUST ACT IMMEDIATELY TO REJECT HER NOMINATION AND REMOVE HER FROM HER POSITION." MAJORITY LEADER JIM STEINEKE TELLS 12 NEWS REPUBLICANS ARE PREPARING FOR A FIGHT IN COURT. >> HE HAS NOT LAID OUT A SINGLE PLAN THAT TELLS WISCONSINITES WHEN THIS IS GOING TO BE OVER USING HARD DATA AND HARD NUMBERS. SO HE SAYS WE NEED MORE TESTING, OK, HOW MANY DO WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO TEST PER DAY? HE SAYS WE NEED MORE PPE, HOW MANY WEEKS OF PPE DO WE NEED? THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, THE CITIZENS HERE HAVE TO KNOW WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE SO THEY CAN SEE HOW WE’RE APPROACHING THAT THOSE METRICS. PATRICK: CAROLINE, WHEN DO THE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS THINK THE STATE SHOULD REOPEN? >> SO THEY DON’T HAVE A SINGLE GOVERNOR EVERS TO BEGIN REDUCING DATE IN MIND. THEY WANT THE RESTRICTIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE LESS AT RISK OF A SERIOUS ILLN

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Wisconsin Republicans are gearing up for a fight, following the Safer at Home Order extension. Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinGov. Tony Evers announced Thursday he will extend the Safer at Home Order through May 26. The order was originally set to expire April 24. "Things won't get back to normal until there's a vaccine and treatment for this disease. Even then our new normal will not be the same as our old normal," Evers said. "At the end of the day, we have to remember we're all in this together, folks. And while we may not be all in the same boat, we're all weathering the same storm." Secretary-designee Andrea Palm agreed. "If we open up too soon, we risk overwhelming our hospitals and requiring more drastic physical distancing measures again," Palm said.The state GOP immediately criticized the governor's actions as unnecessary. "Going to May 26, well beyond what even New York is doing, which is the hardest hit state, makes no sense," Majority Leader Jim Steineke said. "We have thousands of businesses that are maybe weeks away from never opening their doors again. They are in critical need of some kind of a plan to reopen."Steineke said he and other Republicans want Evers to explain why he chose May 26, what kind of data he is getting from health professionals to lead him to that decision, and to work with them on slowly reducing restrictions and reopen the state in shifts."He has not laid out a single plan that tells Wisconsinites when this is going to be over using hard data and hard numbers," Steineke said. "He says we need more testing. OK how many do we need to be able to test per day? He says we need more PPE. How many weeks of PPE do we need? The state of Wisconsin, the citizens here, have to know what success looks like so they can see how we're approaching those metrics."Some Republicans went even further, such as State Sen. David Craig, who called on the Senate to fire Palm. “Now, when the economy is on its knees, rather than being flexible on ways to reopen the economy with little-to-no risk, Sec. designee Palm has once again acted far beyond her authority," Craig said in a statement on Thursday. "As such, the legislature must act immediately to reject her nomination and remove her from her position. She must not be allowed to continually trample on the constitution or the state's economy."Evers responded to the criticism by saying he was doing what was best to to protect Wisconsinites' health. "Let me be clear, this will not be like turning off a switch, but rather a dial we can turn to ramp down Safer at Home so we can safely get back to our way of life," Evers said. Sign up for coronavirus email alerts from WISNGet breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 app.Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube