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The owners of the Ambassador Bridge, the Moroun family, have contributed significantly to GOP candidates in Michigan over the years, as questions loom regarding their reported meeting with the Trump administration hours before President Donald Trump’s threat to delay opening the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The move was a contrast to Trump’s first administration, which publicly rallied behind the bridge’s construction.
The bridge, which would compete with the Moroun family’s monopoly on U.S.-Canada trade in Detroit, was set to open this spring, but that has now been called into question. The bridge was funded by Canada but is jointly owned by Canada and the state of Michigan.
Several Republicans running in numerous elections this year — including U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake and state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Lawton — have received donations from the Morouns. James and Nesbitt are both seeking the Republican nomination for Michigan governor, while Rogers is the GOP frontrunner for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.
On Monday night, Trump posted on Truth Social, saying he would prevent the bridge from opening unless Canada met his demands for better trade agreements for the U.S. On Tuesday, James, Rogers and House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) supported the president’s post. In a meeting with the media on Tuesday, Rogers said keeping the bridge closed is “the right thing to do.”
“I would like the president to have some leverage to stop thousands and thousands and thousands of Chinese-made cars from pouring over that bridge,” Rogers told reporters, according to the Michigan Advance. “Because you know who that hurts? Michigan auto workers. This, to me, is the problem.”
The New York Times reported later Tuesday night that the Moroun family met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hours before Trump’s post.
Rogers received more than $21,000 from the Moroun family through himself and a Rogers-aligned group, Securing America’s Future PAC, according to a Detroit Metro Times report. These campaign finance records were independently verified by WLNS, News 8’s sister station, and are publicly available on the Federal Election Commission’s website.
The Moroun family has owned the Ambassador Bridge since Manuel Moroun bought out other stakeholders, including Warren Buffett, in 1979. The family has used the bridge as the centerpiece of a logistics empire, collecting tolls on what became the busiest commercial crossing between the U.S. and Canada. The bridge’s annual revenue is in the tens of millions of dollars.
The Moroun have spent decades fighting public efforts to build a second crossing — now the publicly owned Gordie Howe International Bridge — including bankrolling a 2012 Michigan ballot proposal to try to block the project. Governments in Michigan and Canada, meanwhile, have repeatedly clashed with the family over land use, maintenance and expansion plans. At one point, Michigan courts jailed Moroun overnight for contempt in a dispute over freeway access ramps that the state said the company failed to build as promised.
On the Canadian side, the family’s tactics — such as buying up homes in Windsor near the bridge and leaving many vacant — fueled years of local anger and accusations of “block-busting” and urban blight. Manuel Moroun died in 2020, but his family still owns the Ambassador Bridge and holds political influence.
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, accused Trump of “threatening to block one of our state’s most important infrastructure projects.”
“Donald Trump and Mike Rogers are playing political games at Michigan’s expense,” Stevens said. “Michigan workers deserve a Senator who will stand up to this chaos.”
Stevens’ opponents, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) and former Wayne County health official Abdul El-Sayed, also criticized Rogers.
“Trump is selling out Michigan jobs for the same elites he claims to fight, and Mike Rogers is cheering him on—calling it ‘the right thing’ to block a bridge built by thousands of union workers and owned by the people of Michigan,” McMorrow said. “If you didn’t know who Rogers works for before, you do now. He works for Trump, not Michigan. And he has no business in the Senate.”
El-Sayed posted on social media “Called it” when the New York Times report was published.
Campaign finance records show that the Moroun family has also supported U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), who has not publicly commented, along with Rogers, James and Hall.
On WOOD-FM on Tuesday, James said that Trump is the “best deal-maker in the world.” The Moroun family has contributed at least $55,000 to James’ campaign, including his failed Senate bid in 2020. James’ father’s family business, the James Group, has publicly supported the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
“President Trump understands how vital it is, not only for our economy, but also for our national security, to make sure that our neighbors are aware of that,” James said in the WOOD-FM interview. “President Trump is using every means and method at his disposal to secure America’s economy and our national security.”
Two of his opponents — Nesbitt and former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox — have not commented publicly. Neither Nesbitt nor Cox responded to a request for comment.
Nesbitt has not received a direct contribution in his bid for governor, but the Moroun family has donated nearly $30,000 to his campaigns over the years.
Cox’s current gubernatorial bid was supported by $8,325 last year, and more than $27,000 since Cox’s first candidacy. Additionally, Cox is an ally of the Moroun family and has previously served as the family’s lawyer. The Moroun hired Cox as their attorney in 2017 during their lawsuit to prevent the Gordie Howe International Bridge from being built.
Leonard, who is also seeking the GOP gubernatorial nod, said in a statement that the president’s threats are working.
“I believe the President’s goal was to get Canada to spend less time chasing trade deals with China and refocus on matters closer to home,” Leonard said. “Clearly, it’s working as Prime Minister Carney has already indicated he’s ready to sit down at the negotiating table and work with America to settle the issue.”
The Moroun family has donated nearly $24,000 to Leonard’s campaigns.
Hall, whose seat is up for reelection this year, has received $36,000 over the years. He has been supportive of Trump’s threats.
“Canada should treat us better and offer fair trade terms, especially when it comes to American farmers and liquor producers being unfairly targeted and having their products taken off of Canadian shelves,” Hall said.
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett has been silent so far, and his office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Barrett has received more than $12,000 from the Moroun family
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