A Michigan judge ruled on Tuesday that the state's 24-hour waiting period and informed consent rules restricting abortion were unconstitutional.
The waiting period, which allows abortion-seekers to consider their options before the procedure, was voted into the state constitution by Michigan voters in 2022, before being challenged in a 2024 lawsuit filed by abortion rights groups.
"The mandatory delay exacerbates the burdens that patients experience seeking abortion care, including by increasing costs, prolonging wait times, increasing the risk that a patient will have to disclose their decision to others, and potentially forcing the patient to forgo a medication abortion for a more invasive procedure," state Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel wrote in her opinion.
"I’m overjoyed to say that the Michigan Court of Claims has seen these restrictive provisions for what they are: an unconstitutional overreach that infringes on our constitutional right to make our own reproductive health decisions," Whitmer wrote. "Today’s ruling reaffirms what we already know: reproductive health decisions belong between a patient and their doctor, not the government. I’m proud to know that this Women’s Health Week, we can celebrate by protecting and expanding women’s fundamental rights and freedoms."
Michigan Catholic Conference President and CEO Paul Long said the intent of the proposal was to grant constitutional protections to "an industry that places itself above the health and safety of women and the lives of pre-born children."
"This decision is a tragic reminder that the normalization of abortion in Michigan exists to the detriment of some 31,000 children every year who will never have the opportunity to experience the gift and blessings of life," Long wrote in a statement. "Now, more than ever, we encourage others to envision a world where human life at every stage – from conception to a natural end – is truly cherished and protected, where expecting mothers are supported with love and care and have access to maternal needs, regardless of the circumstance of the pregnancy."
U.S. Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow told a Michigan crowd last month that gender-inclusive language was pushed by the Democratic Party's "more progressive groups," despite including "inclusive language" in her constituent newsletters as recently as November.
McMorrow, a Michigan state senator, said at the Michigan Democratic Party Rural Summit on April 12 that she "got some flack" from Democrats who encouraged her to use "inclusive language" around the time of the Dobbs decision in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion law to the states.
"You may have heard phrases like ‘birthing persons’ or ‘chestfeeding,’ which was a push by some of our more progressive groups to be more inclusive, so that we were capturing the fact that occasionally, trans men or women may need reproductive care," McMorrow said. "That is not untrue. But, if we were thinking about who we needed to move to our side to have the votes we needed to accomplish the goal, when you say things that are kind of made-up phrases, it becomes really alienating."
While McMorrow acknowledges how that language can actually be "alienating" to voters outside the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and is running a campaign that rejects "performative nonsense," McMorrow chose to include that very language in several constituent newsletters describing Michigan legislation supported by the Senate Democratic Caucus.
As recently as November 2024, McMorrow's constituent newsletter – which highlights the Michigan Democrat's legislative agenda, spotlights community events and shares good news from the district – including descriptions of Senate bills using "inclusive language," like "birthing parent."
In McMorrow's newsletter, Senate Bills 1127 and 1128 are described as requiring "private insurers and Medicaid to provide coverage for group-based pregnancy support programs, which are shown to result in improved health outcomes for both the birthing parent and baby."
Similar language was included in a newsletter the month before describing the Momnibus bill package as "amplifying the voices of Black and Brown birthing people."
The same "birthing individuals" language was included in an April 2024 newsletter, describing the Momnibus bill package as created to "strengthen community-driven programs, enhance prenatal care and maternal healthcare, and amplify the voices of Black birthing individuals, mothers, women, families, and stakeholders."
While descriptions of "birthing" people or individuals are included in McMorrow's newsletter, her campaign said she did not write those words.
Andrew Mamo, McMorrow for Michigan spokesman, told Fox News Digital in a statement: "As she wrote in her book and says on the campaign trail, Mallory knows Democrats need to talk like real people and not use fabricated language that, while intending to be ‘inclusive,’ sounds so unfamiliar that it’s weird to a majority of people. These legislative updates weren’t written by Mallory, and she has continued to advocate even within her own caucus the need to change how Democrats speak."
The campaign said that while the state senator writes a portion of her constituent newsletters, the "birthing" language had been written by the Senate Democratic Caucus. However, those bill descriptions are not attributed to anyone in McMorrow's newsletter.
McMorrow's campaign also pointed to pages in her book released in March that argued the pressure to use "inclusive language" fails at "defining your audience," as Democrats continue to grapple with losing the House, Senate and White House in November.
McMorrow, considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, announced her bid for U.S. Senate to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters early last month, framing herself as an outsider and calling for a new generation of leaders in Washington.
McMorrow has said she would not vote for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to continue as the party leader, adding that it is time for him to step back.
The 38-year-old Michigan state senator garnered national attention for her viral speech to the Michigan state senate in 2022, where she pushed back on allegations from a Republican lawmaker that she was "grooming" and "sexualizing" children.
"I am the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme," McMorrow said, calling out Republican state Sen. Lana Theis for invoking her name in a fundraising email. "We will not let hate win."
As DNC Vice Chair David Hogg seeks to spend millions on primarying older Democrats in blue districts, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm suggested they are taking the exact opposite tact ahead of the 2026 midterms.
"With Democrats like Jon Ossoff openly calling to impeach President Trump, no one should put their personal ambitions above protecting the president’s legacy and majorities," National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) communications director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
"Leader [John] Thune and Chairman [Tim] Scott have been clear that the NRSC’s goal is to protect President Trump’s majority in the Senate, and they know Mike Rogers and John Cornyn are the best candidates to do that in their respective races."
The issue arose as both men – a former Michigan congressman seeking Sen. Gary Peters’ to-be-open seat and an incumbent Texas senator, respectively – may see substantive primary challenges.
An NRSC official reportedly told donors on a Tuesday conference call that people seeking to aid Senate races in both states should only give to Rogers and Cornyn, according to Axios.
When reached, an NRSC official did not wave Fox News Digital off that report.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., is considering a run for Peters’ seat, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, is doing the same in the Lone Star State, according to several reports.
NRSC political director Brendan Jaspers said, according to Axios, that no other candidates but Rogers and Cornyn – "declared or posturing" – should be supported by substantive donors, unless and until they decide to hold onto their seats in a narrowly Republican-majority House of Representatives.
A Huizenga spokesperson told Fox News Digital it is important to "remember that Michigan voters have the ultimate say."
"We continue to hear from grassroots activists, Republican primary voters and donors both here in Michigan and around the country who are looking for an alternative. Sadly, it seems that Washington insiders prefer predictable candidates, regardless of success."
Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment from Hogg regarding Republicans shaping their campaign strategy in direct contrast to his own.
"Republicans are clearly so afraid of losing seats in the House with their extremely unpopular agenda that party leaders are urging House members not to run for higher office," a DNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"Republicans should be afraid of losing elections as they push a budget bill that will cut vital programs for hardworking Americans to pay for another billionaire tax handout — all as the country braces for a Trump recession."
Hogg’s strategy incensed party elders, including Bill Clinton confidant James Carville, who recently remarked, "Does he really think the problem that we‘re facing in the United States today is because we got 65-year-old Democrats in office? Why don’t you take on a Republican? That‘s your job."
However, Carville has since softened his stance, appearing to compare Hogg to Ulysses S. Grant by referencing a popular anecdote in which President Abraham Lincoln purportedly defended Grant against calls for his dismissal after the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, reportedly saying, "I can't spare this man; he fights."
Hunt’s office could not be reached for comment for the purposes of this story.
FIRST ON FOX: A pro-Trump legal nonprofit has filed an official complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calling for an investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices at a prominent Midwest hospital system following a Fox News Digital report on criticism of those policies.
The complaint, which was filed by America First Legal (AFL) to the Civil Rights Office of HHS, charges that Henry Ford Health (HFH) has "implemented and institutionalized an organization of race- and sex-based discrimination under the banner of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") across its operations, including its employment practices, residency programs, and delivery of patient services."
The complaint comes after Consumers' Research, a leading nonprofit dedicated to consumer information, launched an ad campaign alleging the hospital's DEI policies and transgender treatment for children had put "politics over patients," Fox News Digital exclusively reported.
The AFL is demanding an "immediate investigation," as it accuses HFH of using federal dollars to promote DEI initiatives, including racial quotas in their hiring practice, prioritizing organ transplants based on race, elevating "identity-restricted" students for medical scholarships and awarding supplier contracts based on race and gender.
"Failure to act in the face of such egregious and well-documented violations would not only signal tolerance of unlawful discrimination but would undermine the federal government’s duty to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to advance unconstitutional or ideologically driven practices," the AFL wrote in the complaint.
The complaint accuses HFH of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, gener or national origin, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits such discrimination within the healthcare industry.
The AFL also alleges that HFH is violating President Donald Trump's executive order signed this year that bans federal support for DEI mandates.
"Since 2021, HFH has received nearly $1 billion in federally obligated awards containing DEI-related provisions that embed race and sex-based priorities into clinical, research, and administrative functions. These awards show that HFH operates federally funded programs that affirmatively integrate DEI into its internal governance, recruitment, clinical decision-making, and service delivery," the AFL said.
The complaint described HFH's "discriminatory programs and practices" as "flagrant, ongoing, and systematic violations of non-discrimination mandates" and an "unlawful misuse of federal taxpayer funds."
In addition to a formal investigation into HFH's alleged violations, the AFL is requesting a compliance review of all HHS-funded programs, a suspension of all race- and sex-based policies and practices, revised HFH plans to comply with "federal civil rights law," legal and administrative penalties for noncompliance and referal of "any potentially unlawful conduct" to federal enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General.
The AFL described the Midwest hospital as perpetrating a "sweeping, deliberate, and ongoing pattern of discriminatory practices by a major healthcare institution receiving significant federal support."
The complaint is addressed to leading Trump Cabinet members, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Attorney General Pam Bondi, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
It also addresses Department of Justice Civil Rights Chief Harmeet K. Dillon, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea R. Lucas, Director of Office of Federal Operations at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Carlton M. Hadden and Senior Bureau Official at the Department of State Riley M. Barnes.
"Henry Ford Health is prioritizing politics over patients," Will Hild, Consumers' Research executive director, told Fox News Digital this month during the advertising campaign launch. "Driven by gender ideology, Henry Ford has continued performing deeply harmful and irreversible sex-change treatments on children and must be stopped… Consumers' Research will continue to put these hospitals on blast for putting a woke agenda over patient care."
Consumers’ Research targeted the Detroit hospital with a campaign earlier this month called "Ford Health Exposed" that included a website spotlighting its "discriminatory practices" that it said included "administering harmful transgender treatments on kids, and prioritizing a radical climate agenda."
The Henry Ford Health website is littered with examples of "woke" ideology being promoted, including DEI, which the hospital admitted on its websiteis "woven into the fabric of everything we do."
"Diversity always will be the foundation on which Henry Ford Health stands," the organization’s website states.
The website also openly promotes its use of "unconscious bias training" as well as Employee Resource Groups to promote its "diversity" agenda that it says will "enhance the quality of care and comfort for each person that we serve."
The healthcare system also promotes what it describes on its website as "supplier diversity," where it prioritizes working with businesses that are at least 51% owned by LGBTQ+ persons or certain minority categories.
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are simply not enough," Kimberlydawn Wisdom, senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Henry Ford Health, said in a 2021 newsletter posted on the provider’s website.
An HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department "does not comment on potential or active investigations."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Henry Ford Health spokesperson said, "Henry Ford Health respects and fully complies with all state and federal anti-discrimination laws."
"For more than a century, Henry Ford Health has been fully committed to serving Michigan's richly diverse communities, providing health care services and employment opportunities to everyone. Our commitment to non-discrimination remains steadfast," the spokesperson continued.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., greeted President Donald Trump on the tarmac in Michigan before his speech to National Guard members on Tuesday, where she also spoke at the event without hiding her face.
"Well, I hadn’t planned to speak, but on behalf of all the military men and women who serve our country and serve so honorably on behalf of the State of Michigan, I am really damn happy we’re here," Whitmer said.
Fox News co-host Judge Jeanine Pirro said on "The Five" Tuesday that Whitmer had a chance to set the tone for the Democratic Party.
"I think that…of course, she's there because of the troops, but there are some Democrats who wouldn't be in the same room with Donald Trump," Pirro said. "I think that she did the right thing, and I think that wanting to work with the president to bring back manufacturing to Michigan is a smart move."
During the event on Tuesday, Trump unveiled plans to swap out the retiring A-10 Warthog aircraft based out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets.
Trump shared the details during a speech to National Guard members at the Michigan base before an event commemorating his 100th day in office.
"So I want to thank Governor Gretchen Whitmer for bringing it also to our attention very strongly. And, you know, I'm not supposed to do that. She's a Democrat. They say, 'Don't do that. Don't have her here.' I said, 'No, she's going to be here,'" Trump said. "She's done a very good job, frankly. And she's she was very much involved with, with the Republicans. They worked together on saving it. And it was not easy. So I want to thank you very much, Gretchen. Good job."
Whitmer’s presence Tuesday came a few weeks after seemingly hiding her face during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.
Whitmer was criticized for shielding her face with a folder as a photo of the moment became a meme on social media.
She poked fun at the now-viral moment by once again holding folders up in front of her face when asked about her trip to Washington, D.C., during an event at the Detroit Economic Club after the meeting with the president.
"… I don’t want my picture taken, that’s all it was. I kind of wished I hadn’t put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever. You know I was there … I just wrote a book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I’m pretty good at it. We all have our moments," Whitmer said.
The governor's trip to Washington brought her 2028 presidential ambitions into the national conversation as she struck a diplomatic tone with Trump. She carefully criticized Trump's tariffs while saying she understood the "motivation behind the tariffs" and even agreeing with Trump that we "need to make more stuff in America."
Whitmer's Oval Office moment marked her second meeting with Trump in less than a month, and Tuesday’s meeting now marks the third. As Trump signed executive orders from the Oval Office on April 9 and answered questions from the press, he said Whitmer had "done an excellent job" as governor and called her a "very good person," a break from his typical lines of attack on her character.
When Trump signed the executive orders calling for the investigation of two first-term administration aides who were critical of his actions, Whitmer’s office said she was brought into the room "without any notice" and that her appearance was "not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made."
But Trump called the issues "bipartisan" and jokingly added, "We'll all stand there together and cut a ribbon. OK, Gretchen?"
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump laughed off a protester who attempted to disrupt a speech he was giving in Michigan marking his first 100 days in office, joking that he "thought it was a guy."
As the president was praising Republican National Committee leader Michael Watley, there appeared to be some type of disruption in the crowd, causing the president to pause his speech.
"What's the problem over there?" Trump said. "What’s the problem? Is that a radical left lunatic? He's just a child. All right, get him out."
As security personnel removed the protester and the crowd booed, Trump apologized for calling the person a man, alluding that it actually was a woman who was thrown out.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, ma'am, I thought it was a guy," Trump said. "I'm sorry, I said he and it's a she."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for confirmation and has not yet received a reply.
Trump continued, quipping that "she now has to go home to a mother who's a big Trump fan. Her mother's watching."
During his speech, Trump slammed former President Joe Biden, and touted the first 100 days of his second term as the "most successful" of any administration in history.
The president's remarks came during Trump's first major political rally since taking office, organized to celebrate Trump's achievements throughout his second term thus far.
"We're here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country — and that's according to many, many people," Trump told a roaring crowd of supporters. "This is the best, they say, 100-day start of any president in history, and everyone is saying it."
"Week by week, we're ending illegal immigration. We're taking back our jobs, are protecting our great American auto workers and all of our workers. Frankly, we're protecting all of our workers. We're restoring the rule of law," he said.
"We've just gotten started. You haven't seen anything yet. It's just kicking off."
Fox News Digital's Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
During a Michigan speech marking his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump slammed Democrats and Republican "grandstanders" opposing his "big beautiful" budget reconciliation bill — saying that if they succeed Americans will see the "highest tax increase in history."
He said that his bill has "100 percent, just about Republican support," but said it "would be nice if we had just a couple of Democrats just to make sure, because, you know, every once in a while, you have a grandstander Republican. We have some grandstanders."
As the crowd booed, Trump noted there were "not many" Republicans opposing his bill, but he urged viewers to "remember who those grandstanders were and vote them the hell out of office."
Trump cautioned that if the bill fails, the U.S. is "going to have the highest tax increase in history instead of the greatest tax cut in history."
"If the Democrats prevail on this bill, you get a 58% tax increase," asking the crowd, "would you like that?"
"All my life I've been watching, and I've never heard people campaigning that they're going to raise taxes. It's always been, ‘We will reduce your taxes,’ Democrat, Republican. Now they go, we're going to raise your taxes," he said. "I've never seen all the years that they campaign: ‘We will raise your taxes.’ I said, ‘This country has gone crazy.’"
Though Democrats are sure to largely oppose Trump’s spending bill, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after a Monday meeting with Republican leaders that House and Senate GOP leaders are "in lockstep" on passing the budget bill.
Republicans are seeking to fit Trump’s priorities on energy, defense, border security and taxes into the bill, as well as raise the debt ceiling — another item the president specifically asked GOP lawmakers to deal with.
Fox News Digital also recently reported that House Republicans are carving out $68.8 billion for Trump's border wall and to hire more agents in the field amid talks on the spending bill to advance the commander-in-chief’s agenda.
Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump touted the first 100 days of his second term as the "most successful" of any administration in history during a Michigan rally with supporters Tuesday evening.
The president's remarks came during Trump's first major political rally since taking office, organized to celebrate Trump's achievements throughout his second term thus far.
"We're here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country — and that's according to many, many people," Trump told a roaring crowd of supporters. "This is the best, they say, 100 day start of any president in history — and everyone is saying it."
"We've just gotten started, you haven't seen anything yet, it's just kicking off," he added.
Trump's first 100 days of his second term have seen the president aggressively assert his executive authority across a variety of policy areas. He has used his presidential powers to affect change most prominently in the areas of border security, trade, education, civil rights, technology and innovation.
Trump also has notably used his executive powers to slim down the federal government's bureaucracy, including through both spending and staffing cuts at various federal agencies.
"I read an editorial today that this is the most consequential presidency in history, and it wasn't even by a group that would normally be supporting us," Trump added during his address to supporters, without clarifying where the editorial originated from. "It was a group of people that I think tend to be on the liberal side, but they said it's the most important election."
While Trump supporters and other Republicans have touted the president's accomplishments during his first 100 days, Trump's latest poll numbers suggest that Americans as a whole are less thrilled with the way Trump has steered the nation thus far.
The president stands at 44% approval and 55% disapproval in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted April 18 through April 21.
His numbers are also underwater in polls released the past few days by ABC News/Washington Post (42% approval–55% disapproval), New York Times/Siena College (42%–54%), CNN (43%–57%), Reuters/Ipsos (42%–53%), Pew Research (40%–59%), and AP/NORC (39%–59%).
Most recent national public opinion surveys, but not all, indicate Trump's approval ratings in negative territory, which marks a slide from the president's poll numberswhen he started his second term in January.
Prior to Trump's rally in Warren, Michigan, the president spoke to members of the National Guard during a visit to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township.
During the stop, Trump shared details of a new plan to swap out the base's retiring A-10 Warthog aircraft with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets.
President Donald Trump signed an executive action Tuesday softening auto tariffs.
Senior administration officials said Tuesday while previewing the executive action during a call with the media that the current 25% tariff leveled on imported cars will remain intact but that other similar tariffs, such as tariffs on steel and aluminum, will not stack on top of the 25% auto tariff.
Trump signed the executive order on Tuesday afternoon, Fox Business confirmed, while he was traveling to a Michigan rally near Detroit — the U.S.' former auto manufacturing capital. Tuesday marks Trump's 100th day in office.
Additionally, domestic auto manufacturers that finish building cars in the U.S. will receive an offset for automobile part tariffs equal to 3.75% of the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of a manufacturer's U.S. production for the next 12 months and 2.5% of U.S. production for year following. The figures were calculated to reflect the tariff that would be owed when a 25% duty tax is applied to 15% of the value of a U.S.-assembled car, Fox Digital learned.
The 25% tariff on certain auto parts is set to take effect May 3, with administration officials explaining that auto manufacturers can use the offset credits against the tariff on auto parts. The administration stressed that the offset plan is not a rebate.
"A part comes into the country and it gets tariffed," a senior Commerce Department official said Tuesday. "And the auto manufacturers say, ‘Look, I sold a car, I have a credit. I have an offset amount of $1,600. Please use that $1,600 tariff offset amount against this particular part.’ So it will not cost the government any money whatsoever. It is basically allowing them to bring 15% foreign parts and put that in their cars."
The plan intends to allow all domestic auto manufacturers "to grow their plants, to grow their employment, and to build more factories in America," according to senior Commerce Department officials, by building in a two-year time frame to amp up the U.S. supply chain for the auto industry, according to senior administration officials.
The White House detailed that under the plan, if a car manufacturer builds a vehicle with 85% U.S. parts or parts made under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, they will effectively not owe tariffs.
All other autos and auto parts imported to the U.S. will face 25% tariffs.
President Donald Trump is slated to hold a rally in Michigan next week in celebration of the first 100 days of his second term in office, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted in a post on X.
"President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!" Leavitt declared in the tweet.
Trump, who was sworn in on Jan. 20, is the second U.S. president elected to two non-consecutive terms — the first was President Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.
Trump won the state of Michigan in 2016 and 2024, but lost it in 2020.
His 2016 win in the state snapped a lengthy Republican losing streak — the last time Michigan had gone to a Republican in a presidential contest was in 1988.
"There is no better place to celebrate Day 100 than Macomb County," House GOP conference chair Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., declared in a post on X, adding, "Welcome, @POTUS!
Rep. John James, R-Mich., said in a tweet, "Macomb County is honored to welcome President @realDonaldTrump back to MICHIGAN to celebrate the first 100 days of America’s New Golden Age. Together, we will Make Michigan Great Again."
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. took aim at President Donald Trump on Tuesday as she launched a bid for the open U.S. Senate seat in the crucial Great Lakes battleground state.
In a video announcing her candidacy, Stevens was flanked by vehicles as she criticized the Trump administration’s tariff policies and vows to protect Michigan's auto industry.
"[Trump's] chaos and reckless tariffs are putting tens of thousands of Michigan jobs at risk," Stevens charged. She also accused the Trump administration of bringing "chaos."
"Haley will work to bring down costs for Michigan families, continue to boost Michigan's manufacturing and auto industries, and stand up to the Trump-Musk chaos agenda," a statement on Stevens' campaign website reads.
Stevens, who has represented a seat covering parts of suburban Detroit since first winning election to Congress in 2018, highlighted her work to improve America’s auto industry during the Obama administration – and included a clip of former President Barack Obama giving her a shoutout.
Stevens is the third prominent Democrat to throw her hat in the ring in the 2026 race to succeed retiring two-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
Earlier this month, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a rising star in the party, announced her candidacy. McMorrow gained national attention in 2022, thanks to a viral speech she gave in the Michigan Senate as she forcefully pushed back against a Republican lawmaker who had accused her of "grooming" children.
Abdul El-Sayed, the former director of Wayne County’s Department of Health, jumped into the race last week. El-Sayed, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, was endorsed by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he launched his Senate bid.
Former Michigan state House Speaker Joe Tate is also seriously considering a run for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Last month, Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who later served as Transportation Secretary in former President Joe Biden's administration, ruled out a campaign after seriously considering a bid.
As Fox News first reported, former Rep. Mike Rogers, who was the GOP Senate nominee in Michigan in last year's election, last week launched a second straight Republican run for the Senate.
Rogers, a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress, narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats' nominee, in last November's election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.
But Rogers may not have the GOP field to himself.
Earlier this month, longtime Michigan Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga told Fox News that his phone "hasn't stopped ringing" since Peters' announcement.
The Senate race in Michigan is expected to be one of the most high profile and expensive contests of the 2026 election cycle.
The seat is one of three held by the Democrats that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is planning to heavily target as it aims to expand the GOP's current 53-47 majority in the chamber. The other two are in New Hampshire, where longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is retiring rather than running for re-election in 2026, and Georgia, where the GOP considers a first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff vulnerable.
The president of a prominent Christian college in Michigan reacted Thursday to President Donald Trump’s battle with Harvard University — and the billions it stands to lose due to a federal funding freeze over its response to on-campus antisemitism.
"We all have a right to free speech, but if you join the academic community, you don't get to say whatever you want. You can't go to physics class and talk about English Lit. Also, you can't spit on people because they're Jews or denounce them… because that breaks down the friendship that is necessary to the partnership of a college," Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"Now, having said that, of course — you shouldn't say ‘dirty Jew.’ It's perfectly legitimate to say, 'I don't agree with it.' But to say, ‘Israel took that land, and they don't have a right to it,' and the response would be, ‘OK, see if you can prove that.’ That's an academic undertaking," he said.
"Shouting, preventing people from going to class, threatening them personally. That breaks down the academic community. They shouldn't be doing that. And it's, you know, because the [1964] Civil Rights Act is written in a certain way; if they permit that kind of activity, Harvard is in violation of that act, and that act applies to every organization in America."
A college, being an incubator of learning, should especially be an organization to prohibit such virulent behavior outright, Arnn added.
Earlier this month, the Trump antisemitism task force froze $2 billion in grants to Harvard, and Trump later floated stripping its tax-exempt status after the school’s administration released a statement saying it would not comply with demands.
Arnn said that, antisemitic behavior or not, there are thousands of stipulations a college must agree to in order to receive funding from the federal Department of Education.
"The government has changed so much since 1960, and it's all over everything now, including education. And Harvard doesn't like some recent things it's been demanded to do, but it's obeying hundreds of pages of rules that are detailed, and they have to comply with because they have a lot of money from the government," he said.
"So the obvious solution would be, don't take the money from the government, which is what we do," he said, referring to Hillsdale.
Arnn said Hillsdale, founded in the mid-19th century in part by friends of then-Illinois attorney Abraham Lincoln, has never been as wealthy as Harvard but remains an exceptional institution.
"The fact that they are defending [themselves] is good, and maybe they should have the complete courage of their convictions and just give [the funding] up," he said.
If the frozen funds account for the school’s annual federal contribution, it would calculate to $90,000 per student, Arnn added, noting the school also has a large endowment.
"Maybe they could make it on their own," he said.
"Every transaction at Hillsdale College… is a voluntary transaction… [N]obody comes here unless they want to, they have to sign an honor code to come."
Arnn compared Hillsdale’s connections to a politically budding Lincoln to Harvard’s title as the oldest college in the country, and Princeton University’s ties to Founding Fathers like President James Madison.
"If James Madison had come to college here, I would never shut up about it, right? Frederick Douglass spoke on our campus twice. I never shut up about that," he said.
Arnn cited how the first Trump administration investigated Princeton after figures there publicized its supposed racist structures.
"[Madison] personally took pride in the fact they had kept the word ‘slave’ out of the Constitution, because although they had to make a compromise and not abolish it in certain ways, and that compromise is for a very big reason," he said.
"The problem is, we have a set of principles that are perfect, but we will never serve them perfectly," said Arnn. "[T]he attempt to do so can do a lot of harm depending on what the attempt is."
"My suggestion [to Harvard] would be to go in the right direction. It's written in your own history. And you should probably do it with your own resources if you don't like bureaucrats in Washington telling you what to do," he said.
In a statement, Harvard President Alan Garber said Harvard will "not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," and "no government… should dictate what private universities can teach, who they can admit and hire…"
A former Michigan public health official and Democratic candidate for governor entered the race for the state's open U.S. Senate seat on Thursday in what could be one of the most watched races in the 2026 midterm elections.
Abdul El-Sayed, 40, is the second Democrat to put his name in the running to replace Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is not seeking reelection.
El-Sayed, a prominent figure in a movement that was highly critical of support for Israel in the 2024 election cycle, aims to set himself apart from the other Democratic candidates in the race to replace Peters, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
McMorrow has said she would vote against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., retaining his leadership position should she prevail in the primary and general election to represent the battleground state in the upper chamber of Congress.
However, El-Sayed held back criticism of Schumer.
"Anybody who tells you that they’re going to unilaterally oppose one potential candidate without knowing who the alternative is, is either unnuanced or unsophisticated," El-Sayed told Politico. "So I want to know who is available, who is actively seeking the leadership. I’ll make a decision from there."
"What we need right now is somebody who’s willing to take the fight directly to Trump and Musk, but then also knows how to rebuild a version of our federal government that better serves working people after the carnage that Musk and Trump are going to leave behind, and I think I offer that," he told Politico.
Other Democrats considering a run to replace Peters include U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
El-Sayed was active in the "uncommited movement," a group of anti-Israel, traditionally Democratic voters in Michigan, a critical swing state, who threatened to withhold support from then-President Joe Biden, and then then-Vice President Kamala Harris, over the administration's stance on Gaza. He did say he would back whoever was the eventual Democratic choice for the presidential ticket to oppose now-President Donald Trump, according to Politico.
The Israel-Hamas war exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Party last election cycle, and there is concern the conflict could again make for a messy Senate Democratic primary in Michigan if the American Israel Public Affairs Committee intervenes. The powerful pro-Israel lobby group financially backed Stevens in 2022, when redistricting forced a competitive primary run against fellow Democrat, Rep. Andy Levin.
"Everybody is unified around leadership that reminds the Democratic Party that we ought to be the party of peace and justice, that we ought not to be the party sending bombs and money to foreign militaries to drop bombs on other people’s kids in their schools and their hospitals, when our kids need more, our hospitals and schools need more, and we should be spending that money here at home," El-Sayed told Politico.
El-Sayed ran for governor in 2018 as a progressive Democrat and was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
He came in second in the Democratic primary, losing to Gretchen Whitmer by more than 20 points and beating now-U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar by more than 12 points. Whitmer went on to win the general election and is in the midst of a second term. She cannot run again because of term limits.
A resident of Ann Arbor, El-Sayed recently served as director of the Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services in Wayne County, home to Detroit. Before that, he was the public health director of the city after it declared bankruptcy in 2013.
El-Sayed cautioned Democrats against learning the "wrong lessons" from their defeats.
"If you cut corners and trim your message, and you triangulate to the least common denominator, you can find something that’s perfectly inoffensive to everyone, and the problem with that is that you’re not actually saying anything," he told Politico.
El-Sayed said he met with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Tuesday. He told Politico that it was his "understanding" that the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm would not get involved in the primary. If that happens, that deviates from how the DSCC previously acted to clear the field of potential primary candidates to make for an easier primary victory for then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin. Now-Sen. Slotkin, D-Mich., easily won the primary over Hill Harper, and then won the general election.
El-Sayed is also the second candidate this week to launch a campaign to replace Peters. On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers launched his bid on Monday after losing the Senate race last year by 19,000 votes to Democrat Slotkin.
FIRST ON FOX: Consumers’ Research, a leading nonprofit dedicated to consumer information, is launching an advertising campaign against one of the top healthcare systems in the United States, accusing it of prioritizing "woke" politics over patient care.
Consumers’ Research is targeting Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan, with a campaign called "Ford Health Exposed" that includes a website where the group says it is spotlighting "how Henry Ford is putting politics over patients by weaving discriminatory practices into everything it does, administering harmful transgender treatments on kids, and prioritizing a radical climate agenda."
The website points out that the Henry Ford Health website is littered with examples of "woke" ideology being promoted, including DEI, which the hospital has saidis "woven into the fabric of everything we do."
"Diversity always will be the foundation on which Henry Ford Health stands," the organization’s website states.
The website also openly promotes its use of "unconscious bias training" as well as Employee Resource Groups to promote its "diversity" agenda that it says will "enhance the quality of care and comfort for each person that we serve."
The healthcare system also promotes what it describes on its website as "supplier diversity," where it prioritizes working with businesses that are at least 51% owned by LGBTQ+ persons or certain minority categories.
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are simply not enough," Kimberlydawn Wisdom, senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Henry Ford Health, said in a 2021 newsletter posted on the provider’s website.
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion alone can only mitigate the damage of the past. To prevent the mistakes of the past from burdening our communities in the future, our ultimate destination must be justice."
Dr. Maureen Connolly, a pediatrician and LGBTQ+ specialist with HFH, wrote an article promoting transgender treatment on kids, which stated, "Gender-affirming medical therapy and supported social transition in childhood have been shown to correlate with improved psychological functioning for gender-variant children and adolescents."
Connolly also promoted "gender exploration" in another article posted on the HFH website that says, "If your daughter says she feels like a boy inside, let her cut her hair, call her by a different name and switch up her wardrobe."
In addition to the agenda promoted on the website, Henry Ford Health is facing accusations of providing gender treatment to children. The hospital has engaged in sex change treatment, surgeries and puberty blocker treatment in recent years, according to a database compiled by Stop The Harm.
Fox News Digital reached out to Henry Ford Health for comment, but the hospital did not respond to the media inquiry. However, the hospital did delete several DEI sections from its website over the last 24 hours that were archived by Fox News Digital.
The ad campaign charges that HFH is "pushing irreversible sex changes on kids."
In 2023, the Ruth Ellis Center nominated HFH for the Ludwig Community Benefit Award for "improving the well-being of their community by delivering integrated healthcare and social services to LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) youth in Detroit."
"In 2022, Henry Ford providers at Ruth Ellis facilities cared for more than 700 LGBTQ+ patients, including 429 transgender young adults, over the course of more than 6,800 medical visits," a press release touting the partnership between the two entities stated. "The health and wellness centers have been a source of primary care, gender affirming care, comprehensive sexual health services including HIV prevention and treatment, and behavioral health services for dozens of adolescents and young adults."
HFH has also been involved in promoting a liberal climate agenda that included spending millions of dollars last year, according to its own website, to create and promote the Central Energy Hub as part of a push for net zero emissions.
HFH also partnered with an energy company in 2021, according to a press release on the website.
"Sustainability is an integral part of building strong, healthy communities," Bob Riney, Henry Ford Health System’s president of healthcare operations and chief operations officer, said in the release.
"At Henry Ford, health equity is at the foundation of everything we do. It’s an unfortunate fact that low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by poor environmental conditions, which are exacerbated by climate change. By investing in clean, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, we aim to address health disparities and the growing impacts of climate change regionwide, especially in our historically marginalized communities."
The Consumers' Research campaign will also include mobile billboards outside of hospital locations in Detroit and Macomb, a billboard near the state capitol in Lansing, and chalk stencils around the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
"Henry Ford Health is prioritizing politics over patients," Will Hild, Consumers' Research executive director, told Fox News Digital. "Driven by gender ideology, Henry Ford has continued performing deeply harmful and irreversible sex-change treatments on children and must be stopped,"
"The hospital's deliberate mutilation of confused children's bodies is being done in direct defiance of President Trump's orders to eliminate the vile practice for good. Henry Ford Health has also committed to embedding DEI into every facet of its operation, elevating a radical ideological agenda above its fundamental duty to provide excellent scientific-based care," Hild continued. "Considering how many resources Henry Ford has squandered on needless, extreme woke programs, the hospital has rendered itself almost indistinguishable from an activist group, not only spewing radical left-wing talking points but actively imposing these ideologies onto patients and staff. Rather than change course, Henry Ford Health has chosen to wear its transgressions with pride, a chilling testament to how far it has strayed from its original purpose. Consumers' Research will continue to put these hospitals on blast for putting a woke agenda over patient care."
EXCLUSIVE - Former Rep. Mike Rogers, who was the GOP Senate nominee in Michigan in last year's election, is launching a second straight Republican run for the Senate in the crucial Great Lakes battleground state.
Rogers, a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress, announced his candidacy in the 2026 Senate race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in a video that was shared nationally first with Fox News.
"As your next senator, I won't just represent Michigan, I'll fight for it," Rogers emphasizes in his video announcement.
Highlighting his long career in the military, the FBI, and as an elected state and federal lawmaker, Rogers says that he is "running to serve as your next senator because service is what I've always done. Michigan, let's get to work."
And in his video, Rogers also spotlights his support for President Donald Trump, saying "I'll stand with President Trump, and we will deliver on the mandate given to him by the American people….for me it will always be America and Michigan first."
Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats' nominee, in last November's election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.
The Senate seat in Michigan is one of three held by the Democrats that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is planning to heavily target as it aims to expand the GOP's current 53-47 majority in the chamber. The other two are in New Hampshire, where longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is retiring rather than running for re-election in 2026, and Georgia, where the GOP considers a first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff vulnerable.
Minutes after his announcement, Rogers was endorsed by Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the top ranking Republican in the Senate.
"Mike Rogers is the conservative leader that Michigan needs in the U.S. Senate," Thune said in a statement.
And Rogers was also immediately backed by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP's campaign arm.
"Michigan is a battleground state, and with Mike as our candidate, I know we will add this seat to President Trump's Senate Majority in 2026," Scott said in a statement.
While Rogers is the first major Republican to enter the Senate race in Michigan, he may not have the field to himself.
Longtime Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga told Fox News last week that as soon as Peters announced earlier this year that he wouldn't seek re-election, "my phone started to ring and it hasn't stopped ringing."
Huizenga, who was first elected to the House in 2010 and represents Michigan's 4th Congressional District, which covers parts of the southwestern part of the state, highlighted that he's getting "encouragement" to seek the Senate from "grassroots folks," as well as donors.
As for his timetable, Huizenga said: "I'm still going to do my evaluation here, and need to kind of push through on the fundraising and need to make sure that I'm able to get the support that I really need to have to be able to do this kind of run."
Rogers, in an interview Monday morning with Fox News Digital, pointed to his potential primary rivals and said "I think they all understand the importance of being unified going into next year."
And he emphasized that" we’ve done a lot of back work trying to make sure that around the state of Michigan, people were ready to go, Washington D.C. people ready to go."
Asked about the quick endorsements by Thune and Scott, Rogers said "having the majority leader and the chairman of the National Republican Senate committee is huge for us. And it just sends a very clear message: let’s go and we’re in this to win this."
An endorsement by Trump, whose sway over the GOP is stronger than ever, is expected to play a significant role if there's a contested Republican Senate primary in Michigan.
And while Trump has yet to weigh in on the race, Rogers earlier this year hired veteran Republican strategist and 2024 Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita as a senior advisor. LaCivita remains close to the president and his political team in the White House.
Rogers in 2022 and early 2023 mulled a 2024 Republican presidential nomination run of his own, and had a few critical comments of Trump at the time. But Rogers later became a strong supporter of the then-former president and Trump endorsed Rogers in the 2024 Michigan Senate race in March of last year, after clinching the GOP presidential nomination.
Pointing to Trump's sweeping and often controversial agenda during his first three months back in the White House, Rogers told Fox News Digital "working people in Michigan, they get it. And they understand what he’s trying to do for them, their kids, and their grandkids future."
"I would love to have him [Trump] not only endorse, but come to the state and have conversations about why this is important to the future of the country," Rogers added.
Besides Rogers and Huizenga, business executive, conservative commentator and 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon has said she's seriously mulling another run for governor, or for the Senate, in 2026.
And Republican businessman and auto dealership executive Kevin Rinke, who ran for governor in 2022, is also thought to be considering another statewide run next year.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), in a statement following Rogers announcement, emphasized that "Michiganders have already rejected Mike Rogers and his record of abandoning them to walk through the revolving door and get rich, threatening Social Security and Medicare to pay for a tax giveaway for billionaires, and supporting the chaotic tariffs that will spike costs for families."
And DSCC communications director Maeve Coyle added that "no Republican has won a Michigan Senate race for more than three decades and Democrats will hold this seat in 2026."
But Rogers argued that "we know how to put a ground game together to keep us in a very tight seat. Imagine what we can do now that we’ve started this early, raising money, building our ground game. I think we’re going to do absolutely just find. And here’s the good news – all of our polling shows Michigan has moved to the right."
Earlier this month, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow launched a campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet and Haley Stevens are considering a run, as is Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Last month, Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who later served as Transportation Secretary in former President Joe Biden's administration, ruled out a campaign after seriously considering a bid.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, was ribbed online for seeming to hide her face during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Whitmer was seen temporarily shielding her face from cameras in the Oval Office by holding up a folder, according to a photo by the New York Times.
She later lowered the folder, as the president spoke to the press and encouraged Whitmer to comment as well. The Democratic governor, who clashed with Trump during his first term regarding her COVID-19 lockdown policies, met with the president to discuss recovery from an ice storm that impacted thousands of Michiganders, funding for the Selfridge Air National Guard base near Detroit, protections for the Great Lakes and the automobile industry.
Whitmer, joined by Michigan State House Speaker Matt Hall and several Cabinet secretaries, stood steps away from Trump while he signed executive orders Wednesday.
"We're honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan. And, she's been -- she's really done an excellent job. And a very good person," Trump said.
Whitmer told reporters afterward that she thought she was coming into the Oval Office for a one-on-one meeting with the president and was taken by surprise by the press conference.
Her face-shielding was derided online.
"Whitmercovering her face is the perfect metaphor for the Democratic Party," one user wrote.
Another X user said, "Gretchen Whitmer hiding behind her files in the White House is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. This is what my 2 year old does."
"Was this the nail in the coffin of Gretchen Whitmer's political aspirations?" a third user wrote.
Some users joked that Whitmer was "embarrassed" to be photographed with Trump but had no shame in placing a Dorito in the mouth of a podcaster in a 2024 social media post that critics said mocked a Christian sacrament.
The photo showed Whitmer hiding her face while standing in between Trump aide Natalie Harpe and Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Alex Myer.
Myer shared the photo on X, writing: "#NewProfilePic."
Whitmer was in Washington to deliver a "Build, America, Build" address in which she called for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen American manufacturing. She was at the White House for her second meeting with Trump in less than a month, this time to talk about tariffs that were expected to disproportionately affect Michigan, whose economy is closely tied to an auto industry reliant on trade with Canada, Mexico and other countries.
In her speech Wednesday, which came before Trump announced he was pausing tariffs in most nations except for China, Whitmer highlighted areas of agreement with Trump on tariffs but criticized how they had been implemented.
"I understand the motivation behind the tariffs, and I can tell you, here’s where President Trump and I do agree. We do need to make more stuff in America," said Whitmer, before adding, "I’m not against tariffs outright, but it is a blunt tool. You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear defined end-goal."
Whitmer’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of other high-profile Democratic governors, many of whom are also seen as potential contenders for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination. But Whitmer faces a more challenging political landscape than leaders such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker or California Gov. Gavin Newsom as she represents a state with a divided state legislature and that went for Trump in two of the last three elections.
While most Democrats have rejected President Donald Trump throughout his second term, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer bucked the party line during a trip to Washington Wednesday amid speculation about her 2028 campaign aspirations.
Democratic governors, many rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions, spoke out against Trump's tariffs this week as governors JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom worked independently with trade partners to try to soften the damage to their state economies. Whitmer's diplomatic moves put her out of step with her party, and the verdict is still out on how it will affect her politically down the line.
Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist and the president of Bannon Communications Research, told Fox News Digital dialogue with Trump is critical to Whitmer delivering for Michigan, particularly through the uncertainty of Trump's tariff deals. But he said Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, getting too close to Trump could jeopardize her status as a "first-tier presidential candidate," alongside governors Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear and Newsom.
"This is a double-edged sword," Bannon said. "She has to have an open dialogue with the president, but at the same time, if she's going to win the Democratic presidential nomination or have a chance to win it, she is going to have to be very critical of Trump."
"In this political environment, there's no room for nuanced discussion about Donald Trump among Democratic primary voters," Bannon said.
"Whoever's going to be the Democratic nominee is someone who's going to be very critical of the president. And that applies to Andy Beshear of Kentucky or Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, even Gavin Newsom in California," Bannon added.
Newsom, long considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has also embraced political dialogue across party lines since the Democrats' big November losses. Newsom has invited Trump allies and conservative guests, including Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, onto his show in an attempt to show he is open to "criticism and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one another." The strategy follows criticism after the 2024 presidential election that Democrats didn't prioritize new media appearances and unscripted conversations enough.
Whitmer seemed to embrace the bipartisan strategy this week by carefully criticizing Trump's tariffs while also acknowledging an understanding the president's "motivation behind the tariffs" and even agreeing with Trump that we "need to make more stuff in America."
Later that day, Whitmer had her second meeting with Trump in a month. As Trump signed executive orders and answered questions from the press in the Oval Office, he said Whitmer had "done an excellent job" as governor and called her a "very good person," a break from his typical lines of attack on her character.
"One of her opponents will dig that clip up and put it in a television ad," Bannon said.
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA), which applauded Democratic governors for standing up and speaking out against Trump's tariffs this week, characterized Whitmer's trip to Washington as a willingness to work with "anyone" to deliver for Michigan.
"Gov. Whitmer and Democratic governors across the country are doing what they’ve always done as strong and successful state executives — working with anyone to get real results for their states while also standing up against policies that harm their residents. As Donald Trump and Republicans in D.C. continue to sow economic chaos and raise prices, it’s more important than ever that we continue to elect Democratic governors who know how to get things done on the biggest issues impacting families every day," DGA communication director Sam Newton told Fox News Digital.
Whitmer vowed to keep showing up for Michigan regardless of who is in the White House.
"If you're not at the table, you're on the menu," Whitmer said after her speech in Washington. "My oath to the people of Michigan is to continue to show up, even when it means I'm going to get my lunch handed to me. I'm going to keep showing up and keep fighting for the people of Michigan, no matter who is at the other side of the table. That's my job, and I'm going to do it until my last day as governor."
Just a month ago, Trump and Whitmer sparred after the Michigan governor warned her constituents during her 2025 State of the State address that Trump's tariffs could put Michigan’s auto industry in peril. The White House trolled her for "running more for Governor of Canada" by supporting the "deadly status quo."
Fox News Digital reached out to Whitmer's office for comment on her political aspirations but did not receive a response.
Longtime Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan says that as soon as Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced earlier this year that he wouldn't seek re-election in the key Great Lakes battleground state in next year's midterms, "my phone started to ring and it hasn't stopped ringing."
Huizenga, who was first elected to the House in 2010 and represents Michigan's 4th Congressional District, which covers parts of the southwestern part of the state, highlighted that he's getting "encouragement" to seek the Senate from "grassroots folks," as well as donors.
"I have been very flattered and honored to have this kind of support emerging," he said.
The Senate seat in Michigan is a top target for the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections to flip from blue to red, as the party aims to expand its current 53-47 majority in the chamber. And the emerging showdown is expected to be one of the most expensive and bruising battles of the cycle.
Huizenga, who is now the vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee, pointed to "the connections that I've got and have built up over the last now going into my eighth term here" when asked about fundraising.
"It's donors in Michigan. It's donors nationally," he touted. "I've got a network of folks that have been very, very helpful in the past, and they're very interested in helping me out again."
But Huizenga isn't the only Republican making noise about a Senate run.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers announced at the end of January that he was "strongly considering" a second straight Republican run.
And Rogers, a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress, is likely to announce his campaign on Monday.
Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats' nominee, in last November's election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.
Asked if a campaign launch by Rogers would affect his decision-making process, Huizenga said "quite honestly, no."
"I think the question that everyone needs to answer is, who can win? Who can win the state of Michigan, and Michigan politics has shifted, and that's the reality," he said.
Michigan was once part of the Democratic Party's blue wall states that helped boost the party's candidates in presidential elections. But President Donald Trump narrowly carried Michigan in his 2016 and 2024 White House victories.
"What we don't know is whether that Trump coalition of union households, Hispanics, the Arab American population and African Americans, especially males, that came out and supported Donald Trump, along with those independents and Republicans, whether that coalition is going to be held," Huizenga said.
And Huizenga pointed to his double-digit re-election margin last year in a competitive House District (his seat is one of 35 House seats Democrats are targeting in next year's midterms). Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer narrowly won the district in her 2022 re-election victory, and Trump carried the district by six points last November.
An endorsement by Trump, whose sway over the GOP is stronger than ever, is expected to play a significant role in the Republican Senate primary in Michigan.
And while Trump has yet to weigh in on the race, Rogers earlier this year hired veteran Republican strategist and 2024 Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita as a senior advisor.
Asked about his relationship with Trump, Huizenga called it "very good" and claimed that "there is one elected official that has spoken at all three of his last rallies [in Michigan], in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and that's me."
As for his timetable, Huizenga said: "I'm still going to do my evaluation here, and need to kind of push through on the fundraising and need to make sure that I'm able to get the support that I really need to have to be able to do this kind of run."
"We're still more than a year out from the filing deadline, and so there's a lot of runway here, and so I'm not in a huge hurry," he added. "It needs to be done soon. But it would seem to me, sometime this summer or right after Labor Day, is more than enough time to make sure that we got the right candidate."
And in what appeared to be a comment directed at Rogers, Huizenga added that "it's better to have the right person at the right time, rather than somebody early on."
Besides Rogers and Huizenga, business executive, conservative commentator and 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon has said she's seriously mulling another run for governor, or for the Senate, in 2026.
And Republican businessman and auto dealership executive Kevin Rinke, who ran for governor in 2022, is also thought to be considering another statewide run next year.
Earlier this month, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow launched a campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet and Haley Stevens are considering a run, as is Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Last month, Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who later served as Transportation Secretary in former President Joe Biden's administration, ruled out a campaign after seriously considering a bid.
President Donald Trump said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has "done an excellent job" and called her a "very good person" during remarks on Wednesday.
"We’re honored to have, uh, Gretchen Whitmer," he said before going on to praise the Democratic governor.
The president apparently made the comments while Whitmer was in the Oval Office.
The president's glowing remarks stood in stark contrast to his assertion last year that she is a "terrible governor."
"President Trump will always put party aside to put America first! As the President has said, he is a president for all Americans, and is willing to come to the table with any state officials that want to make America greater," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday.
"Governor Whitmer recognizes that the President is flooding Michigan with more jobs, new investments, and economic prosperity—great achievements every governor should want for their state."
Whitmer backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 White House contest.
But the governor met with Trump on Wednesday.
"At the White House today, Governor Whitmer had a meeting with Speaker Hall and President Trump to discuss the northern Michigan ice storm, investing in Michigan’s defense assets, like Selfridge Air National Guard Base, tariffs and the importance of creating good-paying American jobs and bringing back critical supply chains, and keeping our Great Lakes clean and safe," a Whitmer spokesperson noted in a statement, referring to Wednesday.
"Governor Whitmer thanks President Trump for his acknowledgements on protecting the Great Lakes from invasive carp, his work on Selfridge, and his openness to our request for help in northern Michigan.
"This morning, the governor delivered a speech in Washington, D.C. about the devastating effects tariffs were having on Michiganders -- from companies increasing prices and laying off workers to retirement accounts being wiped out. This afternoon the 90-day pause was announced, and that is a step in the right direction and will provide relief to so many businesses across the state, but we remain concerned about tariffs that will hurt American auto companies," the statement noted, again referring to Wednesday.
Another leader and military veteran has thrown his name into the growing list of candidates in Michigan's governor's race to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
On Monday, Republican Rep. John James, a Trump ally, announced he was launching his bid for governor, becoming the latest GOP candidate to jump in the primary.
"I'm running for Governor of the great state of Michigan," James shared in a statement on X. "This decision comes after deep reflection, prayer, and a conversation with my wife and children."
James now joins the state’s Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt as the latest major Republican to jump into the gubernatorial primary, the Hill reported. Meanwhile, the candidates in the race for the Democratic primary include Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, while Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an independent.
"Faith and Family. God and Country. Service Before Self. Michigan First," James posted in the announcement.
James stated that "our state has suffered long enough" and says they are being held back by a "lack of strong, competent leadership."
"For the past seven years, Michigan has been dominated by radical, out-of-touch policies that have hurt our families, our communities, and our economy," James explained in his reasons for running for governor.
James said that the state has lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he equated to nearly a third of their industrial base, saying "that's unacceptable."
"It's time to get Michigan's government out of fantastyland and back to common sense," James wrote.
"President Trump and I have been in each other's corner through thick and thin for eight years-no reason that will end now. He's doing his part to Make America Great Again, and I'll do mine to bring prosperity and sanity back to Michigan," James pledged.
James was first elected to Congress in 2022, becoming Michigan’s first Black Republican member of Congress, and represents the state's 10th Congressional District.
James would also become the first Black governor of Michigan if elected.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Zach Bannon said that James' announcement is good news for Republicans for continued growth in Congress.
"Republicans are well-positioned to hold Michigan’s 10th congressional district as we retain and grow our majority in Congress. Michiganders rejected the out of touch Democrats’ radical agenda in 2024, and they’ll do it again in 2026," Bannon shared in a statement.
Bannon noted that both President Trump and Rep. James won Michigan's 10th district by over 6% in 2024.
