Latest news with #Huizenga
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump allies urge crackdown on Cabinet secretaries meddling in GOP primaries
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — President Donald Trump's allies are fuming at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for getting involved in Michigan's Senate primary, a race that now threatens to divide Republicans. Duffy is headlining a planned June 4 fundraiser for Rep. Bill Huizenga, according to an invitation obtained by POLITICO — a move that puts Duffy at odds with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and 2024 Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita. Duffy has also been advising Huizenga, according to a person familiar with the race. Duffy, according to the two people close to Trump, never cleared his political engagement with the White House political shop, and has now drawn the ire of Trump's top political hands. The transportation secretary's move to fundraise for Huizenga has now prompted threats of a crackdown on Cabinet secretaries' political activities ahead of the midterms, POLITICO has learned. 'He did not ask for it to be approved,' a person close to Trump and granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive political matter told POLITICO of Duffy's decision. 'It would not have been approved. They are old friends and it's technically for the House so not going to embarrass him by standing it down, but the fact is administration officials are not free agents politically, even in their spare time. You never get ahead of the President.' Huizenga has told others that a second Cabinet official could fundraise for him but they're settling on a date. One of the people familiar with Trump's thinking said they would not allow that to happen. The White House declined to comment. A spokesperson for Duffy did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Rogers declined to comment. Trump hasn't decided who to endorse yet in Michigan's Senate race, according to two people close to the president, a contest that arguably represents Republicans' best chance to widen their majority. National Republicans have coalesced behind former Rep. Mike Rogers in the Republican's second run for the office, but Huizenga has been taking steps toward a run. Huizenga spent the week at a gathering of Michigan strategists and elected officials on Mackinac Island preparing a run against Rogers and courting prominent national donors, emphasizing in conversations that Rogers failed to beat Democrat Elissa Slotkin for an open Senate seat in the same year Trump won the state. 'I want to make sure we win,' Huizenga told POLITICO when he said he could announce a Senate bid as early as this summer. 'The question is: Are we going to run the same play and expect a different result?' Huizenga's plans undermine the National Republican Senatorial Committee's plans to clear the field for Rogers, a former Trump critic. Rogers hired LaCivita as his senior adviser. The Republican establishment — including the top echelons of Trump world — have started to coalesce around Rogers as the Wednesday, NRSC political director Brendan Jaspers reposted a poll on X showing Rogers outperforming Huizenga against potential Democratic rivals and suggesting that 'the numbers point to one candidate' who can flip the seat for Republicans: Rogers.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga is preparing to run for Michigan's open Senate seat
MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan — Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga has been preparing a run for Michigan's open Senate seat and plans to make a final decision this summer. If he does enter the primary, he would defy national Republicans, who have been aiming to clear the field for former Rep. Mike Rogers' second attempt at the office. 'I want to make sure we win. I want to make sure we've got the right candidate to do that,' Huizenga said Thursday. 'I personally think it should have been won last election. It didn't. And the question is: Are we going to run the same play and expect a different result?' Huizenga has been assembling a team, including fundraisers, for a potential bid. He recently traveled to West Point to discuss his candidacy with Donald Trump during the president's visit last weekend. Trump endorsed Rogers, a former critic, in last year's crowded Senate primary; he has not endorsed in this race. Republicans' Senate campaign arm has been pressuring Huizenga to stay out of the contest, aiming to avert a potentially messy primary as they try to flip retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters' seat. National Republican Senatorial Committee political director Brendan Jaspers on Wednesday reposted a poll on X showing Rogers outperforming Huizenga against potential Democratic rivals with the message, 'If Republicans want to flip Michigan's Senate seat red in 2026, the numbers point to one candidate' — Rogers. Democrat Elissa Slotkin defeated Rogers in Michigan's open Senate race last year even as Trump won the state.
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga is preparing to run for Michigan's open Senate seat
MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan — Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga has been preparing a run for Michigan's open Senate seat and plans to make a final decision this summer. If he does enter the primary, he would defy national Republicans, who have been aiming to clear the field for former Rep. Mike Rogers' second attempt at the office. 'I want to make sure we win. I want to make sure we've got the right candidate to do that,' Huizenga said Thursday. 'I personally think it should have been won last election. It didn't. And the question is: Are we going to run the same play and expect a different result?' Huizenga has been assembling a team, including fundraisers, for a potential bid. He recently traveled to West Point to discuss his candidacy with Donald Trump during the president's visit last weekend. Trump endorsed Rogers, a former critic, in last year's crowded Senate primary; he has not endorsed in this race. Republicans' Senate campaign arm has been pressuring Huizenga to stay out of the contest, aiming to avert a potentially messy primary as they try to flip retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters' seat. National Republican Senatorial Committee political director Brendan Jaspers on Wednesday reposted a poll on X showing Rogers outperforming Huizenga against potential Democratic rivals with the message, 'If Republicans want to flip Michigan's Senate seat red in 2026, the numbers point to one candidate' — Rogers. Democrat Elissa Slotkin defeated Rogers in Michigan's open Senate race last year even as Trump won the state.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bills aim to study long-term PFAS effects in children
LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — Bipartisan companion bills introduced in the Michigan State House and Senate aim to find out more about how PFAS will impact children who have been exposed. PFAS — a class of manmade chemicals used in all sorts of products, often to make them nonstick or waterproof — was discovered in residential wells near an old industrial dumping site near Rockford in 2017. Kent County advocate 'disappointed' by PFAS standard rollback State Sen. Mark Huizenga, R-Walker, and thousands of others who had never heard of PFAS felt blindsided. 'The PFAS crisis emerged in Rockford when I first started to run. And I consider myself well-read and understand what's going on with a lot of things, but I had never heard about PFAS and I felt very ignorant,' Huizenga said. Huizenga and many people in Michigan and beyond have learned a lot about the so-called 'forever chemicals' that don't break down and can well after contamination. While the chemicals are thought to be linked to certain cancers and other illnesses, the full scope of their lingering health implications is not clear. EGLE says Wolverine Worldwide has hit 'major milestone' in PFAS cleanup Huizenga and state Rep. Julie Rogers, D-Kalamazoo, have introduced legislation that will explore PFAS blood levels in children who may have been exposed. 'This new legislation is focused on children and aims to continue to look at the potential long-term health effects from PFAS exposure,' Rogers said. If approved, the new measures would allocate $500,000 for free blood testing that could otherwise cost people hundreds of dollars. That testing can give children and their parents answers about personal health and create a scientific record and database of information as PFAS continues to be detected in sites around the country. MPART identifies 2 new PFAS contamination sites in West Michigan At a time when bipartisan cooperation is sometimes hard to find in the state capitol, these two lawmakers from different parties say some things, like children's health, rise above the political fray. 'This is not partisan politics,' Huizenga said. 'This is standing up for the men and women and mostly for the children in our community to make sure they get the resources that they deserve and need.' The pilot plan, if approved, would be for Kent, Ottawa and Kalamazoo counties. But given the scope of the contamination, it could be implemented statewide in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Michigan Rep. Huizenga proposes auto loan tax deduction for US-made cars to offset tariffs
Michigan Rep. Huizenga proposes auto loan tax deduction for US-made cars to offset tariffs Show Caption Hide Caption The impact and history of autos in Detroit, The Motor City Here are some facts about Detroit's auto industry. Rep. Bill Huizenga introduced the Made in America Motors Act, proposing a tax deduction on interest paid on U.S.-assembled vehicle loans. The proposed deduction allows up to $2,500 per year for vehicles under 14,000 pounds purchased in 2025 or later. This deduction aims to incentivize American-made vehicle purchases and support domestic auto jobs, echoing a campaign promise by President Trump. U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has introduced legislation that would allow car- and truck-buyers to deduct interest paid on their vehicle loans from their income taxes, a proposal President Donald Trump made on the campaign trail during a speech in Detroit last year. Huizenga, R-Holland Township, proposed the so-called Made in America Motors Act on May 7, saying it would allow consumers to deduct up to $2,500 in interest paid on a motor vehicle loan in a given year as long as the vehicle was assembled in the U.S. No deduction would be allowed for any vehicle loan which is already granted a deduction, but the new deduction would be available to taxpayers whether or not they itemize on their annual tax forms. If approved as proposed, the deduction — which could potentially help spur auto sales of U.S.-assembled vehicles — would be allowed for vehicles purchased in calendar year 2025 or later. The tax deduction would only be available for vehicles weighing less than 14,000 pounds, meaning those for personal or light commercial use. 'The Made in America Motors Act is a win for American taxpayers, autoworkers and Michigan,' said Huizenga, who has represented west Michigan in the U.S. House since 2011 and is considering a run for U.S. Senate next year. 'Making interest on car loans tax deductible was a key campaign promise made by President Trump. The Made in America Motors Act delivers on this promise by giving individuals and families a financial incentive to buy American, which in turn supports good-paying automotive jobs in Michigan and across the nation.' Ford Motor Co. also put out a statement in support of the proposal, saying it "will help Americans purchase a car and gain the freedom to move, while supporting American auto workers." Trump — who has worried automakers with a broad set of tariffs on imported autos and auto parts that, even with some exemptions put in place are expected to significantly raise costs on auto companies and, in turn, buyers — has repeatedly called for tax deductions on Social Security payments, overtime pay and auto loans. But there remain questions about how much revenue those cuts will take out of federal accounts each year and potentially exacerbate the national deficit at a time when Trump and Republicans also plan to extend other tax cuts put in place in 2017. At least one estimate suggested the auto loan deduction could result in a $10 billion reduction to federal revenues, though that was not calculated with the specifics included in Huizenga's bill. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@ Follow him on X @tsspangler.
