Michigan House rushes $152M for Selfridge expansion backed by Trump

In just hours, the Michigan House announced and passed $152 million for runways at Selfridge Air National Guard Base
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and President Donald Trump announced a new fighter mission at the base last April
House Speaker Matt Hall said the funding was necessary to avoid delays

LANSING — The Michigan House on Tuesday proposed and quickly approved $152 million for new runways at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, advancing the surprise spending bill less than a year after President Donald Trump and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the federal government would newly station F-15EX fighter jets there.

When Whitmer announced the mission last April, the now-named US Department of War said 20 of the jets would be stationed at the base beginning in fiscal year 2028.

But without a substantial funding boost from the state, that would not happen until 2029 or 2030, House Speaker Matt Hall said Tuesday in announcing the new supplemental spending bill.

“I think the best thing we can do to ensure that it’s going to happen is make sure it happens while President Trump is president,” Hall, R-Richland Township, told reporters in advance of the vote.

“If we’re going to have to wait for the federal government to fund the runway, then we’re not gonna get this thing done on time,” Hall added, suggesting whoever succeeds Trump might scrap the plan.

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Just hours after Hall first announced the proposal, lawmakers amended an existing bill to include the funding and put it up for a vote. The measure passed 65-41, with two Republicans joining most Democrats in voting against the funding. It now heads to the Democrat-controlled state Senate.

“We’re disappointed by the nature and lack of transparent process in terms of how this was brought up,” said House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton Township, who told reporters his caucus had 10 minutes’ notice before the funding went up for a vote.

Rep. Denise Mentzer, a Macomb County Democrat who represents a competitive district near the air base, supported the appropriation but, bemoaning the rushed process, said she didn’t understand the sudden need for additional funding.

“They’re sitting on approximately $60 million right now that has already been obtained for this runway realignment,” Mentzer said. “They’re still in the planning stages. They don’t have shovels in the ground. So this is actually a little bit premature.”

The base’s commander, Brig. Gen. Leah Voelker, previously told The Detroit News the base would require around $1 billion in upgrades over five to seven years to be ready for the F-15EX fighter jets and a squadron of KC-46A Pegasus Refueling Tankers.

In a Tuesday evening statement, Whitmer spokesperson Stacey LaRouche said the governor is “laser-focused on securing a new fighter mission at Selfridge” and will “continue to work with the Legislature and federal officials to secure funding to make improvements.” She didn’t say whether Whitmer supports the House funding bill or finds it necessary, however.

The state has previously committed about $63 million for upgrades at the base, and Whitmer previously promised $100 million in state funding to realize the fighter mission at Selfridge. Congress included $20 million in a spending bill earlier this year, less than the $200 million requested by Michigan US Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, both Democrats.

The proposed Selfridge funding comes as state lawmakers stare down a budget shortfall that, after years of surpluses, may require them to make difficult decisions about spending cuts or raising taxes in the near future.

State House Democrats who opposed the bill approved Tuesday, such as Rep. Jason Morgan of Ann Arbor, called it “simply reckless spending” when Michiganders are struggling to make ends meet and afford health care.

“The funding for Selfridge Air National Guard Base should be coming from the federal government,” Morgan added, “as promised.”

The appropriation could be put toward the runways, but also would allow the National Guard to put the money toward culverts, taxiways and an on-base museum, according to the legislation.

Puri questioned why the spending request was not subject to new earmark disclosure rules pushed by Hall, the Republican speaker. The new rules require at least 45 days of advance notice for earmarks, but Hall argued the base is considered a part of state government, and the funding was therefore not a grant to an outside entity.

While complete funding for the fighter project remains a work in progress more than 10 months after Trump’s endorsement, the US Department of War and Michigan Air National Guard haven’t hinted at any significant delays. Hall, however, said his push for the funding was based on conversations he’d had with Secretary of the US Air Force Troy Meink.

Last year’s Selfridge expansion announcement was seen as a bipartisan coup for both Whitmer and Hall, who greeted Trump on the tarmac during a visit to the base to announce the fighter mission in April 2025. They had previously traveled to the White House to lobby him on the issue earlier that year and presented him with a Selfridge-themed award.

Hall described the appropriation as a “clean supplemental,” but didn’t say whether his caucus would propose additional funding before closing out the books on the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Whitmer’s state budget office had proposed a $1.1 billion supplemental in February.

At the same time, Hall said the Republican House majority wouldn’t move to restore funding to any of the reported $369 million in state grants that the chamber’s budget committee declined to extend late last year.

“We don’t need to fund any of this stuff in a supplemental,” Hall said. “It’s been more than a year, and if you didn’t get any of this under contract, you don’t need this funding.”

That funding remains in limbo as a related lawsuit plays out between the state House and executive branch departments.