WASHINGTON – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer spoke in Washington Wednesday morning to push a bipartisan approach with the federal government to grow the state’s and country’s economy, manufacturing, and defense.
Whitmer delivered her Build America Build remarks on April 9, 2025, highlighting what her administration has accomplished while she has been in office. She said bringing manufacturing back to Michigan and America can help boost the economy.
Her full speech can be viewed at the beginning of this article.
“Despite the political division we see on the surface, there has been a real, bipartisan effort below deck to bring manufacturing back home,“ she said in her remarks. ”In October 2023, my administration invested $40 million to fix Wilder Road in a small town near Saginaw on the shores of Lake Huron. We got it done to help Vantage Plastics, a local manufacturer, build a new factory and create 93 good-paying, local jobs. This is a purple part of Michigan—President Trump won it three times and I won it twice. A few weeks ago, Vice President Vance visited the finished factory. He spoke there and said quote, ‘Making things, building things, working with our hands is America’s heritage.’ I agree.”
Whitmer also talked about how the recently implemented tariffs are impacting Michigan.
She said Michiganders are facing a triple whammy between higher costs, fewer jobs, and uncertainty about what happens next. She also said the tariffs could not have come at a worse time.
“No state has lived through the consequences of offshoring and outsourcing more than Michigan,” she stated. “We know losing a factory doesn’t just mean losing jobs. Losing people means losing resources. It means fewer police officers and underfunded schools. It means less housing built and fewer roads fixed. It’s a loss of purpose and identity. So, while I share the President’s goal of bringing good-paying, middle-class manufacturing jobs back home, it’s got to be done right.”
Whitmer said she is not opposed to tariffs altogether, but she believes a one-size-fits-all approach to tariffs can hurt America’s progress in making more ships and plans within the country. She said, instead, officials should be strategic and tariff resources America can make on its own.
