An alleged meeting between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the billionaire owners of Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge isn’t sitting right with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House oversight committee.
Garcia launched an investigation Thursday into President Donald Trump’s move to block the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will also span from Detroit to Canada and end the Ambassador Bridge owners’ monopoly in truck tolling in the area, from opening. The California Democrat suggested the Moroun family, who he said have donated over $600,000 to Trump and the Republican Party, met with Lutnick and successfully lobbied the president’s cabinet to halt the development.
“It is flatly unacceptable and undeniably corrupt to allow a wealthy donor to dictate our foreign and economic policy in order to protect his personal business interests,” Garcia wrote in a letter to Lutnick. “The public deserves to know if you or President Trump stand to receive additional benefits from Mr. Moroun in exchange for your sudden interference.”
The Moroun family runs the business that operates the U.S. side of the Ambassador Bridge, which is viewed as the new Gordie Howe International Bridge’s main competitor.
Garcia requested that the Commerce Department hand over all documentation regarding Monday’s alleged meeting between Lutnick and Matthew Moroun, which he said occurred the same day Trump halted the new bridge’s opening. The congressman is seeking to examine any files or communications referencing the Gordie Howe International Bridge and the Ambassador Bridge that circulated between the family, the Commerce Department, and the White House.
The Moroun family has spent $250,000 lobbying D.C. to advocate for the company on “issues related to construction and operation of international bridges,” according to the Detroit News. The family used the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, which was formerly run by Trump’s White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
In response to questions from the Washington Examiner, a White House official said, “the only special interest guiding the President’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people.”
“Putting Americans and America First may be a foreign concept for Democrats, but the Trump administration will continue to prioritize America’s national security and economic interests above all else,” the official said.
The White House has previously said Trump was concerned that Canada has too much control over the bridge and is taking advantage of the United States. The U.S. should own at least half of the bridge, share authority over its traffic, and receive the economic benefits generated by its use, Trump’s team said.
Michigan Democrats are leading efforts to override Trump’s block on the Gordie Howe bridge.
On Thursday, Reps. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) introduced a bill to prohibit the Trump administration from interfering with the bridge’s opening.
CANADA PAID FOR GORDIE HOWE BRIDGE, CARNEY TELLS TRUMP
“Canada and the United States have shared a strong, trusted partnership for centuries, and in Michigan, that relationship matters every single day,” Scholten said. “Canada is our state’s largest trading partner, and projects like the Gordie Howe International Bridge represent what’s possible when we work together across borders to prioritize jobs, commerce, and cooperation.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House and Commerce Department for comment.
