FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
June 18, 2026
Contact: Levi Teitel, levi@progressmichigan.org
Jim DeSana’s Disgusting Comments Deserve Condemnation from House Leadership
MICHIGAN — State Representative Jim DeSana was caught on hot mic, and House Republican leadership needs to take swift action to hold him accountable for his abhorrent statements.
A self-described pro-life conservative Christian, DeSana was recorded on a Zoom call with the Monroe County Republican Party Executive Committee in which he described state Rep. Jamie Thompson as having a “victim mentality” due to her deceased daughter, while also describing his other colleagues as being “scumbags.” In response to this news, Justin Mendoza, executive director of Progress Michigan, issued the following statement:
“What Rep. DeSana said about the deceased daughter of Rep. Thompson is unacceptable. The loss of a child is one of the most heartbreaking things a person can experience, and for him to use that loss to make a cheap shot at one of his colleagues is as low as it gets.
“This is the kind of behavior that is rampant in the Republican Party right now, and is reflected in their agenda to strip our rights to shreds. DeSana also voted against banning marital rape, so we shouldn’t be surprised to hear these latest awful remarks.
“Rep. DeSana should be condemned in the harshest terms by House Speaker Matt Hall and by anyone with a conscience. We’ll be waiting to hear if Hall has any capacity to do the right thing.”
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