Will MAGA Republicans Shut Down the Government in Michigan? | First Draft with Susan J. Demas & Kyle Davidson

Last week, Executive Editor

Susan J. Demas

talked with Congressman Jim Himes about the specter of a federal government shutdown this fall. And on today’s edition of First Draft, she spoke to Michigan Advance reporter Kyle Davidson, who’s been reporting on possible government shutdown in his state.

And with the economy showing signs of slowing due to tariffs and a weaker job market and states looking at big spending cuts in Trump’s budget passed this summer, it’s probably only a matter of time before other states are facing similar budget crunches.

“I know some states have been able to patch things through for now, but especially with these huge cuts that are coming down the line next year from the federal government, I think we're going to be seeing a lot of cuts at the state level, especially if there is a recession,” Susan notes

Michigan could be looking at significant cuts to schools, health care, police and environmental programs going into next year.

But if leaders can’t agree on a budget by Sept. 30, the government will shut down —which isn’t new for Michigan. The state had two partial shutdowns in 2007 and 2009 during its decade-long recession. The circumstances then were similar today — Michigan had a Democratic governor and a divided legislature. Currently, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a possible 2028 presidential contender, is dealing with a Democratic Senate and a GOP House run by Speaker Matt Hall, a close ally of Trump who’s known as “MAGA Matt Hall.”

Meanwhile, Michigan has another competitive U.S. Senate race in 2026, which will be key for Democrats to hang onto if they want to take back the upper chamber. U.S. Senator Gary Peters, who’s also recently been on Lincoln Square, is retiring. Three Democrats are looking to take his place: Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who’s gotten a lot of establishment support, state Senator Mallory McMorrow, who has a strong online presence and liberal support, and Abdul El-Sayed, a physician who ran for governor in 2018 and has the backing of progressive U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. The winner of the primary likely will face former Congressman Mike Rogers, a Republican who narrowly lost a race for an open Senate seat in 2024.

Kyle notes that Democrats will have to appeal to younger voters like him. And the war in Gaza continues to divide Democrats in Michigan, just as it did during last year’s presidential election.

“It does raise the question of: Will we see the Democrats become more sympathetic to people who are extremely concerned about Gaza?” Kyle says. “… You cannot go anywhere into progressive spaces without that being raised.”

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