Democrats probe Trump donor’s ‘influence’ over Gordie Howe bridge threat
Global News
Democrats are demanding Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun provide documentation of a reported meeting held with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before Trump's threat.
Democrat lawmakers are seeking answers into whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to stall the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge was due to lobbying from a billionaire donor and owner of the competing Ambassador Bridge.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight Committee demanded Matthew Moroun provide documentation of a reported meeting held with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Feb. 9.
The New York Times reported last week that the meeting between Lutnick and Moroun, whose family has sought for years to cancel the Gordie Howe bridge project, came hours before Trump’s social media threat that demanded concessions from Canada.
The report said Lutnick briefed Trump on the meeting, citing anonymous sources familiar with the private discussions.
“It appears that you may have used your influence as a donor to President Donald Trump to jeopardize American commerce to protect your company’s bottom line,” the letter from the committee’s ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia of California and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan begins.
“To understand any undue influence you may have had on the United States’s economic and foreign policy, we request information regarding your communications with the Trump Administration.”
Messages left with the Detroit International Bridge Company, where Moroun serves as CEO, were not immediately returned. Global News has also reached out to Lutnick’s office for comment.
Garcia sent a similar letter to Lutnick last week demanding documents relating to his reported meeting with Moroun and any communications with him or his family, as well as all documents and communications about the Gordie Howe bridge, the Ambassador Bridge, and Prime Minister Mark Carney between Lutnick and anyone in the Commerce Department and the White House.
The news comes a year and half after former health minister Adrian Dix announced the much-needed replacement, saying then it was long overdue.
Democrats are demanding Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun provide documentation of a reported meeting held with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before Trump's threat.
From trade tensions to a shrinking workforce and existing inflation, several factors are leading to provinces posting sometimes record-breaking budgets.
The newly launched consumer rebates for electric vehicles aim to help make the purchase more affordable — but how does the cost of powering one compare with a gas vehicle?
The Kamloops institution operated between 1890 and 1969, when Ottawa took control from the Catholic Church and ran it as a day school until it closed in 1978.
The first category that’s being added is for researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience to help drive research in Canada.
A Quebec man who drowned his two children in October 2022, told a jury he has no memory of the day they died, as he testified in his own defence in Laval, Quebec.
The Ford government has broken ground on four stations and an elevated guideway for its signature Ontario Line subway, which could be finished sometime in the early 2030s.
A small black dog that was kicked in a 'disturbing and upsetting' viral video has been removed from the owner’s care, Sudbury police say.
“I am honoured to welcome Matt Jeneroux to our caucus as the newest member of Canada’s new government,” Carney said in a social media post.
It raises the base income tax rate by 0.54 per cent — the first increase in 26 years — while the deficit is predicted to soar to a record $13.3 billion next fiscal year.
While in B.C., the prime minister will attend a Liberal Party fundraiser at a private residence in Vancouver, with tickets costing $1,775.
Brampton, Mississauga and parts of Waterloo Region were among the suburbs where people flocked back to the bus, leading to overcrowding and setting records.