Free read, April 7-11: Trump praises Whitmer, City Council approves budget, foreign students' visas revoked
Here's what you need to read from this week in local news
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It was a mind-bending week for those compulsively following Michigan politics as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, once known as “That woman from Michigan,” earned praise from the president who coined the nickname at the White House.
Trump called Whitmer “a very good person,” in what was an awkward encounter for the Democratic governor.
She traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with Trump to discuss the northern Michigan ice storm, supporting Selfridge Air National Guard Base, tariffs and keeping the Great Lakes free of invasive Asian Carp.
Hours earlier she delivered a speech addressing Trump’s tariffs, saying she didn’t know how exactly she would deploy them differently, but said they should be used like a “scalpel,” not a “sledgehammer.”
UAW President Shawn Fain has also endorsed tariffs, arguing auto companies who have seen record profits in recent years can afford to pay them.
The governor stood in the back of the room, away from Republicans inside the Oval Office as the president signed executive orders calling for an investigation into two aides from his first administration who were critical of his actions.
Whitmer spoke only when prompted by the president and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall as Trump spoke about maintaining Selfridge Airbase. Her on-camera appearance wasn’t planned, the governor’s office said.
“The governor was surprised that she was brought into the Oval Office during President Trump’s press conference without any notice of the subject matter,” a spokesperson said. “Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event.”
The visit was met with disappointment from Democrats and jubilee from Republicans who think Michigan’s governor got played.
Here’s what else I was paying attention to:
Bezos’ Michigan based EV startup
Jeff Bezos is funding an electric vehicle startup with employees from GM, Ford and Stallantis, according to TechCrunch.
The company, Slate Auto, headquartered in Troy, could produce a two-seat electric pickup truck starting next year, the tech publication reports.
Slate is aiming toward a $25,000 entry-level truck, taking inspiration from Ford's Model T and the original Volkswagen Beetle.
Read more from TechCrunch: Inside the EV startup secretly backed by Jeff Bezos
City council approves 25-26 spending plan
Detroit City Council unanimously approved the city’s 2025-26 annual budget this week after hours of hearings.
City council members followed Duggan’s lead by settling for the mayor’s proposed $20 million increase to the city’s $209 million transit budget, instead of adding another $16 million which advocates were calling for throughout the process. The $20 million increase will be used to add more bus shelters and more drivers.
The city also eliminated $5 million in funding for the Detroit Land Bank.
Remember the $827 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding the city received? Council will control how to spend $14.5 million of those funds, which must be spent before the end of 2026.
Council members dedicated $5 million of it for emergency shelters and homelessness outreach, with the other $9 million going toward programs of their choice.
Read more about the city of Detroit’s budget from Malachi Barrett and Dana Afana
Foreign students at Michigan colleges told to leave
Students on Michigan college campuses are being forced to leave the country by the Trump administration.
A total of 22 individuals have been notified they must leave at the University of Michigan. Michigan State says the total amount of students targeted is small, but an exact figure isn’t available because notifications are going directly to students, the Free Press reports.
“Our number is 7 students: 3 who are currently enrolled in classes and 4 who have graduated and are completing OPT (Optional Practical Training),” a spokesperson for Central Michigan University told the Free Press.
Hundreds of students across the country are being targeted for deportation. The State Department has declined requests from media to share the exact number of students being removed from the country.
Democrats attack Duggan over praise of Republican House Speaker
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel criticized Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan for hosting House Speaker Matt Hall at the Detroit Police Department headquarters in Detroit last week.
Duggan, a number of lawmakers and Hall joined local police leaders to support the passage of a $115 million police funding package.
Hertel took aim at Duggan, who told me Matt Hall was “doing a great job,” as speaker.
“MAGA Matt Hall has been failing Michiganders as Speaker of the House — supporting Trump’s tax hikes, working to kill jobs across the state, and pushing an agenda that takes money out of the pockets of Michiganders,” Hertel said. “MAGA Matt has been in lock-step with the Trump-Musk agenda that’s threatened the livelihoods of countless Michiganders, and Duggan is proving that he is as out of touch as they are.”
Hertel said that Duggan, “is clearly only interested in what he thinks will help him, not what’s best for Michigan.”
Duggan’s campaign for governor shot back on Wednesday, saying Hertel “believes hating Republicans trumps protecting citizens.”
Drake’s inside Cade Cunningham’s locker
Rapper Drake is flexing his NBA connections in a recent Instagram post showing the Canadian music star inside Pistons’ Cade Cunningham’s locker.
The Instagram post references a song recently released to Youtube, which includes mention of “sleeping in the Pistons locker room” while wearing Cunningham’s Crocs.
Cunningham’s left behind Crocs, mentioned in the song titled, “Shopping Spree,” also appear in the Instagram post.
Thanedar’s ad blitz scrutinized
Detroit’s congressman U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar spent about half of his official expenses on advertisements to promote himself last summer, according to congressional spending data.
Thanedar spent $930,000 in taxpayer money last year on TV, radio and other advertisements, Melissa Nann Burke reports.
Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar ranked atop all 435 U.S. House lawmakers for spending last year on advertisements using taxpayer money.
Thanedar spent more than 20 times more than the average House member on advertising for the year during a period of a few weeks, according to an analysis by the website Legistorm, which tracks congressional data.
Thanedar told Burke he to generate calls from constituents who need federal help, noting the calls fell off after he stopped running the ads.
Read the full story: Thanedar taps taxpayer funds to reimburse himself for 'mind boggling' advertising blitz