“It’s like the Senate heard the governor say we need to make cuts and did the exact opposite,” said Borton, who chairs the House committee responsible for the MDARD budget. “Not only did they grow state government in both scope and size, but they’re also playing politics and trying to weaponize our tax dollars against the Trump Administration. Tariffs are designed to bring jobs and purchase power back to the U.S. and are, at their core, a federal issue. Whether they’re effective or not, it’s up to the feds to work it out. We shouldn’t be using Michigan tax dollars to meddle in federal policymaking. The Senate should be less focused on what the president’s doing and more focused on how to help farmers here in Michigan, especially considering state departments are famous for long wait times, inconsistent enforcement, and unclear regulations.”

“The Senate DNR budget is bipartisan; whoop-de-doo,” Borton said. “Don’t think that just because a Republican put their name on this that I won’t still defund the DNR into oblivion. This isn’t a policy proposal; it’s a DNR tax.”