Federal Grant Cuts Could Threaten Lansing GM EV Project as Michigan Finalizes $81 Billion Budget

LANSING — A major project at General Motors’ Lansing Grand River Assembly plant could be in jeopardy after reports that President Trump may cancel more than $1 billion in federal grants awarded to GM and Stellantis.

According to The Detroit News, the cuts would also affect $800 million in grants for Michigan-based initiatives, including a $500 million award intended to help GM convert its Lansing Grand River plant from producing gas-powered vehicles to electric ones. Other Michigan recipients reportedly impacted include Dow Chemical and a Ford Motor Company auto supplier.

In other statewide news, the Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld the state’s anti-hazing law following a challenge by a man charged in connection with the 2022 alcohol poisoning death of a Michigan State University fraternity pledge. Three other pledges were hospitalized following the incident, and the suspect’s trial in Ingham County is still pending.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed Michigan’s new fiscal year budget into law. The $81 billion spending plan includes $14.1 billion for the general fund and was approved by lawmakers just two days after the deadline, narrowly avoiding a state government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the ongoing federal government shutdown—now in its eighth day—has not yet affected travel plans at Capital Region International Airport. However, officials say staffing shortages nationwide are contributing to flight delays.

In western Michigan, state police say a military vehicle caused an eight-vehicle crash that closed I-94 near Kalamazoo for eight hours Monday and left a 10-year-old child seriously injured. Investigators believe speed was a contributing factor in the chain-reaction collision.

Finally, former Michigan Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Detroit has died at age 80. Kilpatrick, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2011, was the mother of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.