Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is responding to critics of her meetings with President Donald Trump by answering that they’ve yielded results. Whitmer, a Democrat serving her final term as governor, and widely considered a possible future presidential contender, says she still has fundamental disagreements with President Donald Trump. She also says face time with Trump, including a now-famously awkward Oval Office encounter, was worth it to win 21 new fighter jets heading to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.

The Michigan Public Radio Network spoke with the governor Wednesday about cutting a deal with a president with whom she’s had an adversarial relationship.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Rick Pluta: Why does this Selfridge deal matter, not just to Macomb County, not just to metro Detroit, but to the entire state of Michigan?

GW: Yeah, you know, this is a big deal. So the A-10, which is our fighter mission at Selfridge, is being retired. And the fighter mission matters because we think about Selfridge, it has an economic impact on the state of $850 million a year. There are 30,000 jobs in Michigan that are related to Selfridge directly. And so not having a fighter mission would be a huge problem, not just for Selfridge but for a defense economy that we’ve been building out, advanced manufacturing. We think about aerospace as well as bases in Grayling, Alpena, and in Battle Creek. This has a massive impact on the state of Michigan. So I’ve been working to try to get a new fighter mission at Selfridge every year since I’ve been elected governor, and my predecessors did, as well, and we got it done, 21 F-15 EXs. This is the cutting edge, state-of-the-art planes and it’s gonna have a generational impact on our economy.

RP: How did this come to be? Why now?

GW: Well, you know, after the election — I had been trying to get the Biden administration to do this — after the elections, I said, well, let’s keep going. I’m going to keep trying to work with the Trump administration to get it done. And I was at the National Governors Association dinner at the White House. I raised it at that first opportunity with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that night, as well as when I sat next to Donald Trump at the dinner, you know, and I’ve had many conversations and meetings with the president on this issue. I’ve been relentless on this and they were receptive. And despite the fact that we’ve got a lot of differences and we don’t agree on a lot of things, I take every opportunity to make the case for Michigan, whether it’s about tariffs, Asian carp, or ice storms. Selfridge has been a part of all those conversations every time, too.

RP: As you mentioned, you’ve said you will work with everyone, anyone, but you have gotten a lot of pushback from folks within the Democratic Party about your work with this president. Now that this Selfridge deal is done, what’s next? What are your plans for continuing to work with this administration?

GW: I oppose this administration and a lot of things that they’re doing, whether it’s around their — what they’ve done on — you know, I mean, it’s voluminous, the ways that we disagree, the things that we disagree on — from their tariff policy, the chaos that’s been leaked, to the violation of people’s civil rights, to the potential Medicaid cuts that are coming that are going to impact Michigan hospitals and Michiganders everywhere. That being said, I’ve got a duty to continue to try to get as much done for our state as I can. I’ve got to work with people that I don’t always agree with. I always have, and I always will, try to do what’s right for Michigan and that means continuing the conversation on preventing Asian carp from infiltrating the Great Lakes, getting relief for victims of the ice storm. It means continuing to work to try to get more economic development done in Michigan. So I will both fight back when I need to, and try to get Michigan’s priorities done wherever I can.

RP: Finally, Governor, do you think Democratic voters, that is voters in your party, know that you still fundamentally disagree with President Trump?

GW: Yeah, of course they do. My values haven’t changed. My oath is to serve the people of Michigan. It means standing up for our rights, it means fighting back when they’ve got tariff policies that are making Michiganders lose jobs or their costs go up. It also means getting at the table and being there to get a huge investment like Selfridge over the finish line. I can do both. I will do both, that’s the ethos I’ve always led with.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has appointed a new justice to the state Supreme Court.

Noah Hood will serve a partial term until 2026. He’s filling a seat vacated by former Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement.

Clement was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, in 2017. She left the court earlier this year to serve as president of the National Center for State Courts. Justice Megan Cavanagh replaced Clement as the chief justice.

Hood has served on the state Court of Appeals in Detroit since 2022. Before that, he sat on the Wayne County Third Circuit Court for three years. He has also served as a federal prosecutor in Michigan and Ohio.

If Hood chooses to run, he and Cavanaugh will be up for election in 2026.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer continued to highlight road funding, housing, and innovation as three main priorities during a speech at the Grand Rapids Chamber Monday.

Whitmer has proposed a roads plan that involves putting all taxes on gas sales toward roads, and raising some new revenue from larger companies and the marijuana industry.

Meanwhile, a competing House Republican-led plan agrees on the gas tax front, though it would find additional money for roads by scaling back proposed using savings from scaling back business incentive programs, like one known as the SOAR Fund.

Whitmer said she’s open to ideas, but the state can’t afford to entirely cut programs meant to bring in business.

“Maybe it doesn’t look exactly like the SOAR going forward. Maybe they’ve got additional thoughts about ways that we could sharpen our toolkit. But what we can’t do is unilaterally drop all the tools and think that we’re going to be able to go toe to toe with states that are trying to steal companies that are already here,” Whitmer told reporters her speech.

Whitmer said talks are ongoing over whether Democrats should introduce bills for their competing vision, or if lawmakers need to get to a point where they have their own policy goals and negotiate from there using the House bills as a jumping–off point.

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said it’s time for all sides to come together to hammer out details.

“We are eager to start serious negotiations about the budget and about the road funding concepts that are out there. The plans are great, but if they’re not bicameral — Not just bipartisan, but bicameral and bipartisan — it won’t succeed,” Brinks said.

Brinks said negotiations over roads need to happen side by side with budget discussions. She acknowledged the next state budget will likely be smaller than in recent years, while Whitmer also called for some belt-tightening during her speech. Much of that is due to fewer federal COVID-19 pandemic aid dollars being left.

As far as housing goes, Whitmer’s plan involves using a state agency to ensure more affordable housing units get built. She also wants lawmakers to fund a program that re-purposes former industrial sites for residential or commercial uses.

“I have told all the legislative leadership where we spend money, whether it’s in the budget or it’s elsewhere, it’s got to be negotiated with the budget. And so, it is my hope that we are able to secure additional longevity in the brownfield redevelopment funds,” she told reporters.

Whitmer said she’s not ready to say how much money she expects lawmakers to put into the Transformational Brownfield Plans program.

Monday’s speech was the fourth in a series of speeches her team is broadly referring to as the Road Ahead. Earlier talks include ones in Detroit given in January and earlier this month, and in Washington D.C.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Thursday calling on the state health department to create a report on how big proposed cuts to the federal Medicaid program would affect Michigan.

The executive directive instructs the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to create a report within 30 days detailing the effects of a congressional Republican proposal that could cut $880 billion from Medicaid over 10 years. Whitmer wants data and personal stories to help congressional Democrats shut down a Republican budget resolution if it includes Medicaid cuts. But she said it is already clear the impact in Michigan would be huge.

“Statewide, Medicaid covers 2.6 million people,” she said. “That’s over a quarter of our population. “That number includes a million children, nearly 170,000 seniors and 300,000 people with disabilities.”

Whitmer was flanked by health care workers as she signed the directive at a hospital in Royal Oak. She said hospitals, clinics and other providers would have to reduce services and find other ways to make up for lost funding if Medicaid is slashed.

Whitmer said rural hospitals, which are also large local employers, would likely be the hardest hit. She said using Medicaid cuts to extend tax cuts and reduce the federal budget is a bad deal for taxpayers.

“This won’t make government more efficient,” she said. “It’ll just raise your costs, eliminate local jobs and put lives in danger.”

Republican leaders have said they are not targeting Medicaid, but it is not clear how they would hit their rollback goals without big cuts to Medicaid and other entitlement programs.

“There’s simply no way to do it without drastic cuts to Medicaid,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), who serves on the GOP-led congressional committee that is supposed to come up with health care cuts and savings. “And let me make this very clear, we will make sure every Republican is on record on what they are cutting.”

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke at a Detroit Economic Club event on Monday.

Whitmer also met with President Donald Trump last week in Washington D.C., trying to ensure that Michigan receives federal help to restore power in northern Michigan after severe ice storms in late March. 

But tariffs, and how Michigan is navigating economic uncertainty, were also a focus at the White House and the DEC event. 

Auto suppliers are concerned that Trump’s tariffs will devastate their businesses, driving up the cost of cars and reducing sales. And this is important in Michigan where the auto industry makes up about 20% of our economy. 

WDET reporter Bre’Anna Tinsley attended the DEC event, held at MotorCity Casino’s Sound Board Theater. She joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss Whitmer’s remarks. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, April 15:

• Cutting the ribbon on new affordable housing in Southwest Detroit
• A professor’s thoughts on reforming DEI at universities
• WDET celebrating the life and legacy of Judy Adams at Garden Theater this weekend
• Child amputees from Gaza get treatment, hope in Detroit

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was caught by surprise last week to walk into the Oval Office for a meeting with President Donald Trump to find she was in a televised press conference.

The New York Times published a striking photo of Whitmer trying to hide her face behind a blue folder.

She told the Detroit Economic Club that people ask “what was going through your mind at that moment and it was ‘I don’t want my picture taken.’ That’s all it was. I kind of wish I hadn’t put a folder in front of my face, but whatever.”

Whitmer told the group in a luncheon address that she does not regret the visit because she was there to make an in-person ask for federal disaster assistance for Michigan following ice storms that left much of northern Michigan without power. She and the President also spoke about Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County and managing the invasive carp.

But Whitmer said she was also able to express her concern about tariff fights with Canada, which is Michigan’s largest trading partner.

“I do think that all of that is taking a toll on the relationship,” she said. “It’s one that I recognize is incredibly important to us as people and as Michiganders and to our economy. I’m going to do everything I can to keep it strong, but there’s no question it’s having a negative impact.”

Whitmer said she has been in touch with Ottawa Premier Doug Ford on the situation.

Whitmer also told the group she remains “in productive conversations” on getting a road funding deal with state legislative Republicans. She told the group her negotiation lines are setting money aside for economic development and not cutting funding for public safety.

That drew a rebuke from a key Republican lawmaker, who said cuts to public safety and housing are not part of the proposal the House GOP put on the table.

“We understand the importance and necessity of a bipartisan effort to get anything passed through our divided Legislature and ultimately signed into law without a veto from our Democrat governor,” said Rep. Pat Outman (R-Six Lakes), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “We believe there is a compromise out there, and we are eager to find it before one more tire falls victim to a Michigan pothole.”

Regardless, a major sticking point in road funding negotiations is Whitmer’s desire to maintain a business attraction fund to help finalize economic development deals. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent Wednesday in Washington D.C. to deliver an address where she warned about the dangers of sweeping tariffs before heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.

At an event held a couple of blocks from the White House, Whitmer — in a speech billed “Build, America, Build” — warned that tariffs are a tax that are passed along to consumers and would have sweeping affects across the economy.

Whitmer said Trump’s unilateral tariff orders would pose a particular threat to manufacturing states like Michigan that rely heavily on border-crossing supply chains.

“You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear, defined end goal,” she said.  “We cannot underestimate or under-appreciate the time and capital it’s going to take to actually bring jobs and supply chains back home. So, there’s not a shortcut here.”

Whitmer also spoke about the need for cooperation in a sit-down with television journalist Gretchen Carlson.

Not long after that, Whitmer was at the White House for an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.). There was none of the trash-talking reminiscent of the first Trump term when she described him as a threat to democracy and he famously called her “that woman from Michigan.”

In fact, Trump said the Democratic governor who’s often mentioned as a prospective presidential candidate has done an “excellent job.” Trump also paused some of the tariffs he had just ordered.

But Glenn Stevens Jr., the executive director of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s MichAuto, said the tariffs eased by Trump won’t provide much relief to Michigan’s automotive sector.

“The tariffs that are affecting our industry directly, and that is a stack-up of tariffs — the Canada-Mexico tariffs, the steel and aluminum tariffs, the imported vehicle and imported component tariffs — those are all still in place,” he told the Michigan Public Radio Network. “So, we’re still in the situation that we were.”

A Whitmer spokesperson called the pause “a step in the right direction” that “will provide relief to so many businesses across the state.”

Still, the aide said, “we remain concerned about tariffs that will hurt American auto companies.”

Watch a replay of the full address below.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has deployed the Michigan National Guard to help with ice storm recovery.

Two specialized teams were deployed Wednesday to help clear debris on roadways.

“These are engineers with chainsaws and other equipment working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Public Safety Communications System,” said Michigan national Guard spokesman David Kennedy.

The National Guard is also responding to a request from the MyMichigan Medical Center in Alpena to set up a temporary shelter.

Kennedy confirmed servicemen have set up medical tents outside the hospital to support emergency room overflow.

Warming centers are open across the region for people who have no power or heat.

“We are continuing our all-hands-on-deck approach to help families and communities impacted by the storms in Northern Michigan,”  Whitmer said in a news release. “Power restoration is a top priority, and I’m grateful to our utility partners for positioning hundreds of utility workers to help get power back online as fast as possible.”

Due to lost power at gas stations, a lack of fuel has been among the main concerns in the region. Whitmer also said she would temporarily lift restrictions on weight and commercial driver hours to allow energy supplies to move quickly to northern Michigan.

Great Lakes Energy said in a Monday night statement that it “advises members to prepare for a five-day to multi-week outage event.”

OUTAGE INFO

• Consumers Energy
• Great Lakes Energy
• Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op

The governor’s latest orders also added Alcona and Antrim counties to an earlier state of emergency declaration.

“The declaration authorizes the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD) to coordinate state efforts above and beyond what MSP/EMHSD has already been doing in conjunction with local agencies,” said a news release from the governor’s office.

The state of emergency declaration now applies to Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, Alpena, Alcona, and Antrim counties.

“Our Soldiers and Airmen train to be ready to support communities across Michigan when facing natural disasters,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “Our focus will be to assist state and local agencies as we clear roadways overcome by debris.”

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Interlochen Public Radio on April 2, 2025.

The new state law that lifts Michigan’s 38-year-old ban on paid surrogate pregnancy contracts took effect Monday.

Michigan banned the practice after a Dearborn attorney gained nationwide notoriety in the 1980s for arranging surrogate contracts.

Surrogate parenting was new, controversial and misunderstood when it first became an option, said Stephanie Jones with the Michigan Fertility Alliance.

“And I really think people have changed their outlook on this significantly since then and it’s just become more of a norm,” she told Michigan Public Radio. “People have become more aware of infertility and the need for assisted reproduction to grow your family. So, I think it’s just become more palatable over the years and we, of course, want to be able to support people who need this to grow their families.”

The newly effective laws outline the legal rights and obligations of all parties to a surrogate arrangement. That includes automatic parental rights for couples without having to adopt after a child is born.

Advocates say that makes the arrangements enforceable and predictable. But some conservatives and faith groups say the development is not a welcome one.

Michigan Catholic Conference Vice President for Public Policy and Advocacy Tom Hickson said the church believes infertile couples should consider foster parenting or adoption. He said allowing surrogates to be paid will lead to exploiting vulnerable young women.

“That was the No. 1 amendment that we tried to get in was to strike the compensation aspect of this,” he said. “I mean that just really minimizes the dignity of motherhood and childbirth into a sale and delivery mechanism.”

Michigan joins the vast majority of U.S. states in allowing compensated surrogacy contracts.