The Governor, along with Speaker Matt Hall and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, met last week on road funding and the state’s budget behind closed doors and without staff. We have received information from the meeting that there wasn’t anything major to report. It’s important to note that this was the first time that Speaker Hall and Leader Brinks have met face to face this year. WE didn’t anticipate that they would solve the road funding problem in this first meeting and are actually grateful that there seemingly weren’t any major blow ups. They have agreed to start meeting regularly on the issue and include staff to those meetings, which is a major step in the right direction. Below is a media report from the meeting.
Big Three Talk Roads Behind Closed Doors
The Governor, the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker met this morning behind closed doors on a possible long-term road funding solution and the logistics of passing a Fiscal Year 2026 budget, among other topics.
While the trio hadn’t met at all earlier in the year, the conversations among the three have picked up, sources say, with today’s 30-minute meeting described by the office of Senate Majority Leader Winnie BRINKS (D-Grand Rapids) as “productive.”
“Governor Whitmer met with Senate Majority Leader Brinks and Speaker Hall this morning. It was a productive meeting where they talked about the need for a sustainable, long-term road funding solution that fixes the roads with the right mix and materials while also supporting tens of thousands of good-paying union construction jobs.
“The Governor looks forward to continue working with both leaders to get the job done,” said Whitmer spokesperson Bobby LEDDY.
