The Army Corps of Engineers had halted work in July on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project near Joliet, Illinois, a state-federal initiative designed to prevent invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes. The halt occurred without public explanation, prompting officials in Illinois and Michigan to seek clarification about the pause while environmental authorities raised concerns about the proximity of invasive carp to Lake Michigan.
On Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, placed a call directly to President Trump requesting he direct the Army Corps to lift the stop-work order. During the conversation, Whitmer emphasized the urgency of the situation, noting that invasive carp had recently been discovered approximately 80 miles from Lake Michigan, farther upstream than previously recorded. Hours after the call concluded, the administration lifted the halt and notified Whitmer’s office that work could resume.
The episode reflects both Whitmer’s distinctive political relationship with Trump and the decision-making style of his administration, which appears to prioritize direct communications and personal relationships with the president. Whitmer, who is term-limited and will leave office in January, has maintained an unusual cross-party working relationship with Trump during his second term, having previously clashed with him frequently during his first presidency.
The Brandon Road project has received hundreds of millions in federal funding approved under President Joe Biden and has faced repeated uncertainty under Trump despite his stated support. In March, Whitmer similarly pressed Trump on federal funding for the initiative, after which Trump posted supportive comments on Truth Social and the Army Corps released funding for the project’s next phase. However, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who has emerged as an outspoken Trump critic, criticized the administration for not notifying Illinois officials of the decision to lift the stop-work order, despite the project’s location within the state.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI