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Great Lakes project resumes after Trump-Whitmer call
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- The Trump administration abruptly lifted a hold on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, aimed at preventing invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes, hours after a phone call from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to President Trump.
- The Army Corps of Engineers had halted work on the project in July without explanation, causing concern as invasive carp were found alarmingly close to Lake Michigan.
- Whitmer, a Democrat with an unusual cooperative relationship with Trump, directly intervened by urging the president to lift the stop-work order, highlighting the urgency due to the carp's proximity to the lake.
- Despite Whitmer being informed of the resumed work, Illinois officials, including Governor JB Pritzker, were not notified, raising concerns about communication and the project's stability.
- The episode illustrates the Trump administration's top-down decision-making style and contrasts Whitmer's collaborative approach with Trump's administration against Pritzker's more confrontational stance.
