LANSING, Mich. — Republican state legislators traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to meet with some of the top cabinet officials from President Donald Trump’s administration. State Rep. Jaime Greene and state Sen. Kevin Daley, who were among those attending the meeting, highlighted the important discussions they had regarding education, housing and returning jobs to Michigan.
“Our conversation with President Trump’s cabinet made it apparent just how much he shares our focus on turning around Michigan’s declining schools and economy,” said Daley, R-Lum. “As we try to remedy problems with our state’s educational performance, housing market, and business environment, it is essential that we maintain a harmonious relationship with our federal officials. I was very pleased by how much insight they displayed regarding Michigan’s situation.”
The cabinet officials who met with Michigan legislators included Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and a number of senior officials from the Department of Treasury and Domestic Policy Council.
Greene expressed her enthusiasm for meeting with Lutnick and Turner in particular, as their departments’ policies have directly impacted the work that she has lately focused on regarding rural broadband development. In her role chairing the House Communications and Technology Committee, Greene has promoted increased access to the state’s Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which is an investment program in high-speed internet infrastructure administered by Lutnick’s Department of Commerce.
“The BEAD program is a great example of the kind of federally administered public service that can improve the lives of countless Americans, but it depends upon state officials to accomplish its intended goal,” said Greene, R-Richmond. “That type of service requires an immense degree of coordination and cooperation, and that is exactly what we’re seeing out of this administration. My conversations with Secretary Lutnick and Secretary Turner definitely reaffirmed that, and I am excited for what we can accomplish for Michigan families by working together.”
