WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her “Build, America, Build Address” in Washington, D.C. where she outlined her administration’s bipartisan approach to working with the federal government to grow Michigan’s economy, boost manufacturing, and protect our national defense. Each of these priorities builds on the historic work the Whitmer administration has accomplished over the past six years, ensuring Michigan is the best place for people and businesses to move, invest, and grow.
“I’ll work with anyone who’s serious about solving problems to grow our economy, protect our national security, and bring manufacturing back to Michigan,” said Governor Whitmer. “Right now, there’s an ongoing, global competition between the America, China, and other countries to lead the future of manufacturing. To make sure we win, we need to work across the aisle at both the state and federal levels to bring supply chains home, secure critical investments, and create thousands more good-paying jobs. That’s what the American people expect of us—and we must deliver. We must also work with our friends and compete against our adversaries, so tariffs don’t stop us from building ships, chips, and planes. Together, we can restore the U.S. as the global powerhouse of manufacturing. It’s time to build, America, build!”
“Michigan’s service members rise to the challenge every day to protect our communities and our nation,” said U.S. Army Major General Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “Michigan’s commitment to defense manufacturing and national security strengthens our economy and supports military families. Governor Whitmer and I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure Michigan remains a leader in national security.”
“Any serious plan to grow Michigan’s economy must prioritize strengthening Selfridge and supporting the brave men and women who serve there,” said state Senator Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military, Veterans, and State Police. “Selfridge is not only essential to our national defense — it’s a powerful economic engine for Michigan, generating over $700 million for our families and businesses. I’m proud of the more than $28 million we’ve already secured for the base, and I remain committed to working across the aisle and across all levels of government to ensure Selfridge’s continued growth and long-term future in our state.”
“Michigan plays a pivotal role in our nations defense,” said Mark A. Hackel, Macomb County Executive. “From the service women and men who stand ready at Selfridge Air National Guard Base to our ever-expanding network of defense contractors who build the most advanced equipment that keeps our nation strong, we are committed to protecting and growing our states military advantage.”
“As the state with the seventh most manufacturing companies in the nation, Michigan is well positioned to benefit from reshoring of manufacturing companies,” said John Walsh, President and CEO of the Michigan Manufacturers Association. “We appreciate Governor Whitmer highlighting the strength Michigan’s manufacturing footprint and the opportunity for growth through state and federal partnerships. Michigan is a manufacturing state and with the right state and federal policies, Michigan can be well positioned to grow jobs through new manufacturing investments.”
“MichAuto applauds the bipartisan work under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration to strengthen domestic manufacturing in Michigan,” said Glenn Stevens Jr., Executive Director of MichAuto at the Detroit Regional Chamber. “The expansion of workforce training and development programs like the Going PRO and the SOAR funds has helped make Michigan a leading state in new clean energy and vehicle manufacturing, and the new R&D tax credit and Innovation Fund continue to improve the state’s global competitiveness.”
“We were excited to hear of Governor Whitmer’s focus in her Build America Build remarks – not only is the Upper Peninsula home to the advanced manufacturing opportunity, shipbuilding and the design and production of cutting-edge technologies, like microchips, but we are the only region in the State to be home to the critical minerals that are the backbone of those opportunities,” said Marty Fittante, CEO InvestUP. “Consequently, implicit in the Governor’s focus is that economic and strategic opportunity runs through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”
Bringing Manufacturing Back to Michigan and the United States
Growing Michigan’s economy by onshoring supply chains and creating good-paying jobs for Michiganders has remained a top priority of the Whitmer administration since day one, and it remains a top priority for Michiganders and Americans alike, regardless of political ideology. As such, during her “Build, America, Build Address,” Governor Whitmer laid out her vision to work with federal and state governments to bring manufacturing back home to Michigan.
Specifically, Governor Whitmer emphasized the impact the manufacturing industry has on the health of our economy. When we build, more people have access to affordable housing, better roads, and more transit options. When we don’t build, people leave, creating talent gaps in key resources like public safety and education. Over the last few years, we have seen major progress:
- Tripled the amount of money being spent to build new factories in America over the past decade.
- Secured dozens of new factories to build chips, batteries, cars, and energy in America.
- Seen more than $100 billion of manufacturing projects across the Midwest.
- Attracted huge manufacturing investments from major companies to build data centers, chip factories, and research facilities.
Making the U.S. a Leader in Shipbuilding
American shipbuilding is struggling, building just 0.1% of the world’s ships. Meanwhile, China alone makes 53%—more than the rest of the world put together. At the federal level, there has been a bipartisan push to increase shipbuilding in the U.S. In her address, Governor Whitmer highlighted the recent actions the Trump-Vance administration has taken to support shipbuilding, including establishing a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and testifying in front of Congress on challenges, including reduced manufacturing capacity, supply disruptions, and workforce shortages.
Governor Whitmer also highlighted the steps Michigan has taken to address the decline in shipbuilding and, specifically, workforce shortages. Nationally, the U.S. is short more than 100,000 workers. This shortage will get worse as a generation of experienced shipyard workers retires soon. That’s why Governor Whitmer has taken action by launching the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M3) Initiative: A job training program, built in partnership with Macomb County and Macomb County Community College, to prepare thousands of Michiganders for careers in maritime welding or machining.
The M3 program has been incredibly successful, having already graduated its first class. As a result, during her address, Governor Whitmer called for an expansion of the M3 Initiative statewide, emphasizing that the State of Michigan can serve as a connector between the Navy and our network of 31 Tribal and community colleges across Michigan. This partnership would result in the training of thousands of Michiganders who would be able to support manufacturing at both the state and national levels, boosting our economy and bolstering our national defense.
“The Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M3) initiative offers us an incredible chance to directly contribute to critical national security objectives while leveraging what we do best,” said James O. Sawyer IV, President of Macomb Community College. “Macomb’s M3 maritime CNC machining and welding training represents a transformative opportunity for our students and our region’s manufacturing sector, creating accelerated pathways to rewarding careers and a highly skilled workforce. We’re honored by the trust and investment in Macomb Community College to accomplish this work and help rebuild our nation’s shipbuilding capabilities and capacity.”
Continuing to Lead in Aerospace Innovation
Currently, the U.S. is home to industry giants and manufacturers up and down the supply chain, making us the world leader in both commercial and military aviation. However, the world is catching up.
Globally, the U.S. is short 17,000 jets while plane travel continues to grow, reaching an all-time high of 5.2 billion passengers last year. Because of the shortage, however, airlines are using older planes for longer, for an average of 13 years. China has begun to fill this gap, rapidly expanding their aviation manufacturing industry—military and commercial.
In her address, Governor Whitmer put forward a plan to beat China, ensuring the U.S. can remain a leader in aerospace innovation. As the automobile capital of the world, Michigan leads the world in manufacturing. As such, Governor Whitmer advocated for collaboration at the state and federal levels, ensuring we can make targeted investments to retool our factories to make planes and plane parts.
Another problem facing the aviation industry is the shrinking workforce. Nearly a quarter of American aviation technicians have less than five years of experience as a huge wave of retirements hits the market. Experts estimate that by 2028, we will be short 37,000 aviation techs. Governor Whitmer highlighted the actions her administration has taken to curb this growing problem:
- Made bipartisan investments in Selfridge Air National Guard Base, a key defense hub and economic anchor that supports thousands of jobs and hundreds of military families in Macomb County.
- Established a new statewide Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation.
- Set up a Transportation Innovation Zone in the heart of Detroit, where our aviation and aerospace startups can easily test new technologies in public airspace.
While these actions have made important progress, it isn’t enough. Governor Whitmer advocated for a collaboration between D.C. and Michigan, outlining her vision for a coordinated, national strategy and bipartisan investment to grow America’s aviation industry and workforce. Together, we can create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, protect our national security, and lower costs for travelers around the world and at home.
Bringing Back Semiconductor Chips
The third piece to Governor Whitmer’s plan to bring back American manufacturing focuses on the smallest pieces of metal out of the three: Semiconductor chips. Chips are the brains behind critical items that make our lives work, including phones, cars, and appliances. And while the U.S. invented chips, and even made them for a while, China has since become the leader in their production. In her address, Governor Whitmer explained the importance of staying on the bleeding edge of chip technology, stating that we must continue our bipartisan national strategy to make more chips in America instead of overseas.
Approach to Tariffs
Since the Trump administration’s tariffs went into effect, Michigan’s auto industry—which makes up about 20% of the economy—has been severely impacted. Auto companies are stockpiling parts and laying off workers. Meanwhile, suppliers are facing higher costs and delaying expansions. And since every auto job supports three others in the community, the impact will be felt by countless small businesses across Michigan too.
Governor Whitmer stated her position on the Trump administration’s enacted tariffs, which represent the largest tax increase in nearly 60 years. While she is not opposed to tariffs outright, she believes a one one-size-fits-all approach to tariffs will hurt our progress on making more ships and planes in America, increasing costs for domestic manufacturers and allowing China to advance in shipbuilding while catching up to us in aviation. Instead, we must be strategic and tariff the technology we want to make in America or industries where we already have a sizeable competitive advantage, such as energy and automobiles.
###
Comments