Sweeping federal policy changes and budget cuts.
Unexpected political alliances.
A narrowly averted state government shutdown, and the longest federal government shutdown on record.
A lot happened in the Michigan political world this year. Though there were no statewide elections on the ballot, candidates began making their pitches for who should serve as the next governor, US senator and other key roles up for grabs in 2026 — and Detroiters made history by voting in the city’s first female mayor.
After two years of a Democratic trifecta, state lawmakers were back to split government, with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats controlling the Senate and governor’s office. It was, by bill count, one of the least productive years in Michigan legislative memory, but lawmakers managed an overhaul of minimum wage and paid sick leave policies and a bipartisan budget deal.
It was also, of course, President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House, where his administration took on the task of advancing his priorities at warp speed.
Need a refresher? Let’s get into it.
Trump comes back swinging
President Donald Trump made a lot of big promises to Michigan voters about what he would do if elected to a second term in the White House, including saving the auto industry, increasing tariffs on foreign nations, taking on illegal immigration, slashing taxes and more.
Since his first day in office on Jan. 20, the Trump administration has moved quickly to act on those priorities, frequently testing the boundaries of presidential power through wide-ranging executive orders and emergency declarations.
Among those actions:
- Ramping up immigration enforcement across the nation, halting US refugee resettlement programs and boosting funding for ICE recruitment and detention centers, including a large facility in Michigan
- Levying steep tariffs on most foreign imports, including broad tariffs on the auto industry and Canadian goods, in some cases escalating trade tensions with other nations
- Pardoning people convicted of crimes related to 2020 riots at the US Capitol, as well as 16 Michigan Republicans who until recently faced state-level felony charges for signing a document falsely claiming Trump won Michigan’s electoral votes in 2020
- Reversing Biden-era green energy initiatives, such as tax incentives for electric vehicles, solar energy grants and billions of dollars in funding previously promised to green energy projects
Read: Fact check: Trump promised Michigan peace in Mideast, not troops on US streets
More: Trump and UAW credit tariffs with Michigan investments, but headaches remain
Whitmer’s unexpected alliances
Despite past differences, Trump and Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer became unlikely allies at times in 2025, with Whitmer visiting the White House and speaking with the president multiple times to advocate for Michigan issues.
Trump — who had previously called Whitmer a “terrible governor” and derided her as “that woman from Michigan” during an argument over the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic — said this spring that Whitmer is “a very good person” who has “really done an excellent job” during her tenure in office.
While other Democratic governors around the country have taken an aggressive stance against the Trump administration, Whitmer said in February that her goal was to find “common ground” with Trump in a way that benefits Michiganders.
Trump in April announced that Selfridge Air National Guard Base will receive 21 F-15EX Eagle II fighters to replace a fleet of retiring jets, delivering on a Whitmer priority she’d advocated for at the White House. He also vowed to work with her on preventing Asian carp from infiltrating the Great Lakes.
Whitmer did break from Trump on a handful of key issues, criticizing his tariff policies and calling on him to delay significant changes to the Medicaid program that are expected to cost the state millions of dollars.
And a photo of Whitmer hiding her face with a folder in the Oval Office made for an awkward viral moment that prompted criticism from some Democrats.
Legislature’s deep divides
Whitmer has also fostered a working relationship with House Speaker Matt Hall, a Richland Township Republican who has joined the governor on trips to the White House.
In September, he told Bridge that he and Whitmer are “both kind of old school” in their approach to negotiating with the opposite political party.
Hall’s praise of Whitmer did not extend to his Democratic colleagues in the Legislature, including Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids.
The speaker’s approach since assuming his new leadership role has included insults toward his Democratic colleagues: He’s accused Brinks of being “directionless” and “misguided” and called House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri “useless and ineffective” on multiple occasions.
Tensions between the House and Senate contributed to one of the slowest years on record for lawmakers. In the first six months of 2025, the divided Legislature sent an average of one bill a month to the governor’s desk.
The next lowest total was in 2007, when a divided Legislature sent 31 bills to then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s desk before July 1 — more than five times as many as this year.
Senate Democrats spent the better part of the year challenging Hall in court over his refusal to send nine bills passed by both chambers to the governor’s desk, instead ordering a “legal review.” A Court of Appeals panel ruled in October that House Republicans must send the blocked legislation to the governor, which the caucus appealed in December.
Hall infuriated Democrats in December when a House GOP panel unilaterally canceled about $645 million in previously approved spending, including funding for a new mom cash assistance program and the ongoing Flint water crisis recovery.
DOGE, federal cuts
Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency took a proverbial sledgehammer to federal agency budgets this year, slashing funding for arts, parks, public health, violence prevention programs and more.
Billionaire business owner Elon Musk, at Trump’s behest, initially led the charge of quickly shrinking the federal workforce with an eye toward driving down government costs.
Proponents of the measures pointed to the federal deficit, which has doubled to nearly $1.8 trillion since the pandemic, and what they viewed as a bloated government workforce, which had grown to 3 million from 2.75 million since 2015.
But those on the receiving end of the funds lamented the loss of longstanding research partnerships, critical funding sources for nonprofits around the state and federal programs like Job Corps, a job training program for young adults.
Many Michigan-based workers at federal agencies, including the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lost their jobs or were put on administrative leave.
Many Democratic-leaning state prosecutors took to the courts to challenge and in some cases reverse the onslaught of sweeping federal cuts. Among them: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who over the course of 2025 filed dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration.
A budget deal, with road funding and weed tax
Months of contentious state budget debates culminated in a dramatic finale this fall.
Lawmakers approved an $81 billion agreement two days after they missed the constitutional deadline to approve a spending plan, instead passing a stopgap bill to avoid a state government shutdown.
The crux of the deal is an expected $1.8 billion-a-year increase in road funding, much of which will go toward local road repairs. It’s funded in large part by a new 25% wholesale marijuana tax — a change marijuana industry advocates have already challenged in court — and corporate income taxes.
The budget deal also cut funding for more than 1,700 full-time equivalent state government employees, most of which came from cutting vacant positions, and dropped funding for the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund, the governor’s flagship corporate incentive program.
The $24.12 billion education budget included in the plan boasts record-high per-pupil funding, no-cost lunch and breakfast for K-12 students and a small bump for colleges and universities.
School groups were frustrated it took so long, however: the legislature blew past its statutory July 1 budget deadline designed to line up with school and local government budget cycles.
Minimum wage, paid sick time deal
Michigan lawmakers were also able to reach bipartisan agreement this year on scaling back minimum wage and paid sick leave laws set to take effect under court order, a move hailed by business leaders.
The compromise deal capped off years of debate around two ballot measures proposed in 2018, which a Republican-led Legislature adopted and immediately watered down as a means to keep it off the ballot.
The Michigan Supreme Court determined in 2024 that the tactic was unconstitutional, leaving lawmakers to decide whether they’d amend the plan once more or let the 2018 language become law.
Unions and other pro-worker groups pushed for the minimum wage and sick leave changes to take effect as originally proposed, but business groups argued that would spell doom for various industries, including restaurants.
Under the deal, Michigan’s $10.56 minimum wage will rise to $15 by 2027, but the state did not phase out its subminimum wage for tipped workers. Instead, that rate will rise to 50% of the standard minimum wage by 2031.
Small businesses with fewer than 10 workers will have to provide five days paid leave, and larger firms will have to provide nine days. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees will not have to offer additional unpaid leave.
‘Big, beautiful bill,’ federal shutdown
The two congressional issues with the biggest impact on Michigan in 2025 were the so-called “big, beautiful bill” — vehicle legislation for many of Trump’s top priorities — and the federal government shutdown longer than any previously on record.
The sweeping tax and spending plan, signed into law on July 4, promises more tax breaks and border security spending, but is expected to increase the federal deficit and offset costs by cutting Medicaid and government food assistance.
While high earners would see a clear benefit from the cuts, significant changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could make the changes a net negative for lower-income individuals and families, analyses by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and other organizations show.
In Michigan alone, hospitals are bracing for a hit of at least $6 billion over the next decade from federal cuts to Medicaid, which currently provides health insurance to more than 2.6 million. Some 200,000 residents could lose their coverage under the federal legislation.
On Oct. 1, partisan disputes led to a federal government shutdown that lasted for 43 days and jeopardized several federal programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Head Start program providing free preschool to families.
The temporary pause in food assistance benefits impacted more than a million Michigan families and sent charitable food organizations into overdrive as they worked to connect vulnerable residents with alternative resources.
Read: Michigan rural hospitals at risk under Trump’s ‘beautiful’ bill, experts say
More: What shutdown deal means for Michigan food stamps, flight delays, more
Detroit elects first woman mayor
Detroit voters made history in November, electing Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield to serve as the city’s first female mayor.
Sheffield, 38, is the daughter of pastor and activist Horace Sheffield III and granddaughter of civil rights legend Horace Sheffield Jr. Sheffield’s mother was an educator and nurse, and her grandmother, Mary Coty, was an activist.
Sheffield will take over for outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan, who this year launched an independent campaign for governor.
State Supreme Court shifts left
Former Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement’s departure — and Whitmer’s subsequent appointment of Court of Appeals Judge Noah Hood — left the Michigan Supreme Court with a near-total majority of Democratic-appointed justices.
Six of seven active justices have now been appointed by Democratic governors or nominated at Democratic Party conventions. The only Republican-nominated justice remaining on the court is Justice Brian Zahra.
Hood will finish Clement’s term, which runs through 2026, and would need to win a statewide election next year to continue in the post.
The court has in recent months considered a docket that is heavy on criminal justice, including a controversial 5-2 decision this spring that found mandatory life in prison without parole for offenders under 21 unconstitutional.
The court is currently considering a rule change that would limit civil immigration arrests in state and local courtrooms. Separately, the Michigan Judicial Council recommended sweeping changes to how trial courts are funded, which would need legislative approval to take effect.
Some transparency strides, another FOIA fail
Michigan lawmakers agreed to overhaul the state’s earmark process this year, forcing public disclosure of proposed spending on individual projects 45 days before final budget votes. The reforms come on the heels of several scandals over allegedly misspent or embezzled funds awarded during spreading sprees by the Legislature.
In prior budgets, earmarks were often included at the eleventh hour in the budget’s final version, leaving effectively no time for public review of what was in some years more than $1 billion in spending, without any information about who sponsored the grants and who will receive the money.
But despite strides in some transparency pursuits, Michigan will remain one of just two states that fully exempts the Legislature and governor’s office from public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
House Speaker Matt Hall has made clear that his chamber will not take up Senate-approved transparency legislation to expand FOIA even though he personally supported similar bills as recently as last year.
Another effort to improve Michigan’s government transparency has also hit roadblocks. The state’s $9 million political transparency portal, dubbed the Michigan Transparency Network, offers less public-facing information on campaign finance and lobbyist spending than its predecessors.
Lawmakers struggled to comply with recent financial disclosure requirements under the new platform, prompting a law extending the deadline and allowing reports to be submitted via email.
Emails obtained by Bridge showed the portal was delayed by months amid growing tensions between state officials and the contractor hired to build the system.
Gov’s race takes shape
Duggan entered the 2026 governor’s race in late 2024. The Detroit mayor’s decision
to run wasn’t surprising, but his choice to run independently of the Democratic Party added a new layer of complexity to what was already shaping up to be a competitive race to replace Whitmer.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has been the top fundraiser among Democrats vying for the nomination, a race that also includes Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Marni Sawicki.
On the Republican side, US Rep. John James is the early frontrunner in a crowded race that also includes former Attorney General Mike Cox, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, former Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard.
Other grassroots GOP hopefuls include truck driver Anthony Hudson, political organizer Karla Wagner, pastor Ralph Rebandt and William Null, who in 2023 was acquitted of terrorism charges associated with a plot to kidnap Whitmer.
Stage set for US Senate race
Incumbent US Sen. Gary Peters’ decision to forgo a re-election campaign in January also kickstarted yet another statewide competitive race for one of Michigan’s two US Senate seats.
Coming off of a narrow 2024 loss to US Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, White Lake Republican Mike Rogers cleared the GOP field early in his second bid for the Senate.
US Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County public health official Abdul El-Sayed are currently competing for frontrunner status in the Democratic primary, to be decided in August 2026. Combat veteran and health researcher Rachel Howard is also in the race.
This article first appeared on Bridge Michigan and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
