Huizenga revs up MIGOP but stops short of announcing Senate bid in Mackinaw City speech
MACKINAW CITY – In a speech to various factions of the Michigan Republican Party on Saturday that covered everything from the federal budget to the spat between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga certainly sounded like he was planning to run for the U.S. Senate.
But the congressman from Zeeland stopped short of making a formal announcement speaking to a crowd of donors, party faithful and several members of the Michigan Legislature at the Straits Area Lincoln Day Dinner event held at Audie's Restaurant in Mackinaw City on Saturday.
Reports have swirled recently that Huizenga is staffing up to take on former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters in 2026. Rogers was said to have declined an invitation for the Mackinaw City dinner event, which is described as the premier MIGOP Lincoln Day event in the circuit.
Huizenga, however, headlined the event with a speech ranging from congressional budget issues, working with Trump in his second term and the need for Republicans to stick together if they wanted to maintain their majorities in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate as well as in upcoming statewide races, including for governor.
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Even without an announcement, Huizenga made allusions to the issues he'd likely bring up on the campaign trail if the plan was to jump in the ring soon.
'Wouldn't it be nice to have a Republican Senator right now?' Huizenga asked while talking about what his work looks like currently in Washington, D.C. 'We absolutely have got to change that. This is real, folks. This is real for us … when we're talking about fuel costs, when we're talking about regulatory encumbrances, and those problems that we have; when we're talking about taxes that are affecting our businesses, that hits.'
Huizenga went on to talk about the recently passed Republican federal spending plan – which has been hailed by Trump as the 'one, big, beautiful bill' – that now moves to the U.S. Senate for final passage, and various regulatory reform actions that he said are creating a pro-growth ethos in the nation's Capitol.
'It's a new day in Washington, D.C., and aren't we happy about that?' Huizenga also asked the crowd.
On the federal budget, which has been labeled by congressional Democrats as a plan that will gut Medicaid to pay for a massive tax cut for wealthy Americans and Trump's friends in business, Huizenga noted the fallout it has caused between Musk and Trump, who now appear to be not even on speaking terms after the Tesla and SpaceX leader criticized the spending plan and Trump in response kicked him out of the inner White House circle and threatened to cancel his federal contracts. That led Musk to attack Trump and call for his impeachment on social media, while also making other accusations, including that the President's name is found in the so-called Epstein files, a post Musk has since removed. Trump has consistently denied those accusations.
The battle between the two could sever the political romance between the older MAGA movement and Elon's band of young, tech-minded conservatives who jumped on the Trump train and helped him secure victory in 2024.
'It's never fun when mom and dad are arguing,' Huizenga said. 'Multiple things can be true. Do we need to do better on our spending? Absolutely. … We've got to get serious about that spending and our debt. But it's absolutely true that with the one big, beautiful bill, we are going to be far better off as a country because we're creating that atmosphere with a competitive tax structure that allows us to compete with the rest of the world.'
Huizenga said whether that came through Trump's tariffs – which have been scaled back considerably since he announced the renewal of tariffs on other countries when he took office this year – or tax policy from Congress, Huizenga said the aim was to bring back jobs to America.
But, he argued, maintaining that through Trump's presidency depended on Republicans in Michigan getting their act together and unifying around candidates that can win key positions for office in Washington and in Lansing.
'We need to make sure we're pulling the same rope in the same direction,' Huizenga said. 'And we have to remember, in a red jersey versus blue jersey scenario, we're all wearing red. It might be a slightly different shade of red, it ain't a blue jersey, folks. … The country is counting on [because] the Super Bowl is here in Michigan when it comes to politics.'
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