Governor Gretchen Whitmer said President Donald Trump has agreed to send more funds to assist recovery efforts in Northern Michigan from ice storms that battered the region last spring.
That announcement followed a meeting Tuesday at the White House that included both the Republican president and the Democratic governor, who are sometimes rivals and sometimes dealmakers.
“The president agreed to deliver additional federal funding to help Michiganders with the costs of recovery efforts, and the governor is grateful for this extra assistance,” said Whitmer Press Secretary Stacey LaRouche. “The governor is always going to show up and make the case for Michigan. We appreciate the president’s time.”
The agreement to extend the aid appears to be a reversal of an earlier decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There was no indication of how much money could be headed to northern Michigan recovery efforts.
The president said in a social media post that he also is working with Whitmer on efforts to protect the Great Lakes from invasive carp.
LaRouche said the governor pressed for funding so the Army Corps of Engineers can build a barrier to help block the invasive carp from escaping from the Mississippi River system into the Great Lakes.
“We need funding released so the Army Corps can begin construction as soon as possible,” she said in a text message.
LaRouche said they also discussed deployment of a new fighter jet unit to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, and the governor delivered an update to the president on the deadly tornadoes that hit southwest Michigan last week.
Whitmer last met with Trump at the White House in August of last year. Whitmer said they talked about the impact of new tariff policies and a request to delay Medicaid spending reductions that would shift costs to the state.
