Exclusive—Bryan Posthumus: Biden-Harris EV Mandates Will Wreck Michigan’s Economy, But Gretchen Whitmer Is Too Busy Chasing Social Media Fame to Care

Michigan has long been the beating heart of America’s auto industry. Our state has proudly built the cars that have driven American freedom, put food on the tables of working families, and powered the engines of our economy.

Yet, under Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and the disastrous policies coming from the Biden-Harris administration in D.C., this legacy is being dismantled.

Let’s consider the latest assault on Michigan’s economy and our auto industry: Big Brother government mandates forcing the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), which threaten the livelihoods of our workers, devastate our auto industry, and impose economic hardship on everyday Michiganders.

These outrageous government EV mandates are an economic death sentence for Michigan. At both the federal and state level, there has been an unrelenting push to force consumers into electric vehicles — whether they want them or not. While Green New Deal apologists claim that there are no EV mandates, make no mistake, there are.

The Biden-Harris administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set unreasonably aggressive emissions standards, while Whitmer enthusiastically signed onto the climate pledges that dictate a government forced transition to EVs. These government mandates are driven by a radical green agenda that completely ignores the economic realities of Michiganders and the deeply rooted traditions of our auto industry.

Let’s get one thing straight: Michiganders don’t want EVs. The market has spoken, and it has said “no thanks.” According to surveys, nearly 60 percent of Michigan residents have expressed little to no interest in buying electric vehicles. Unlike California, our state’s harsh winters and long commutes mean that EVs simply don’t offer the practical benefits many families need. Charging infrastructure is scarce, and the price tags for EVs are out of reach for working-class families who are already struggling with inflation, rising energy bills, and stagnant wages. Unelected government bureaucrats forcing working families into these expensive vehicles will only further stretch their wallets.

The negative impact on Michigan’s auto industry is already being felt, with layoffs and factory closures looming on the horizon. Stellantis, one of the largest automakers in the world, has openly expressed concerns about the forced transition to EVs. In fact, Stellantis recently announced job cuts as part of their realignment toward electric vehicle production. The threat of these layoffs should alarm every Michigan resident. The state’s auto sector employs hundreds of thousands of workers — many of them highly skilled tradespeople whose livelihoods depend on the internal combustion engine. These aren’t just jobs; they are the backbone of Michigan’s economy.

The government-dictated move to electric vehicles is wreaking havoc on our traditional auto industry. The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike this year sent a powerful message about what’s at stake. Workers are demanding job security, but government EV mandates are slashing the number of jobs available. Electric vehicles require far fewer parts than traditional combustion engine vehicles, meaning fewer jobs in manufacturing, fewer parts suppliers, and fewer people working in assembly plants. This is not a future that works for Michigan, nor is it one that our state’s auto workers deserve.

Stellantis is not alone in sounding the alarm. Ford has also experienced significant disruptions, with its own executives acknowledging that the EV market is far from the profitable venture that green ideologues make it out to be. Earlier this year, Ford announced a pause on the construction of its $3.5 billion EV battery plant in Michigan. This came amid the realization that the market for electric vehicles simply isn’t as large as anticipated. If automakers are not selling enough EVs, why are we mandating their production at the expense of traditional vehicles, which are in much higher demand?

Instead of advocating for Michigan’s working families, Gretchen Whitmer is busy chasing social media fame and hobnobbing with Hollywood elites. Her focus is on climate change virtue signaling, posing for photos with Alex Soros, and getting applause from liberal pundits and coastal elites for her “leadership” on environmental issues. But while she’s playing the part of a climate champion for her TikTok feed, Michigan’s auto industry is crumbling under her watch.

Gretchen Whitmer should be fighting to protect Michigan jobs, not sacrificing them at the altar of green activism. Under her leadership, Michigan’s auto industry has faced constant pressure to conform to unrealistic and economically damaging climate mandates. Instead of focusing on making Michigan the best place in America to build and sell cars, she’s focused on being the face of the left’s radical climate agenda. This is not leadership — it’s abdication of responsibility.

To add insult to injury, the rapid expansion of Chinese Communist Party-affiliated companies buying up Michigan farmland for EV battery plants under the current Witmer administration, poses a severe national security threat. These investments give China leverage over vital American industries, while also risking the takeover of key infrastructure tied to both energy production and our supply chain, right in our backyard. We cannot allow foreign adversaries to gain a foothold in Michigan, compromising our economic stability and endangering our sovereignty — an alarming reality that Whitmer continues to ignore in favor of appeasing global elites.

We can have a future where Michigan’s auto industry continues to thrive and where we address environmental concerns in a way that makes sense for working families. But that future cannot come from top-down government mandates that cripple the very industry that has built our state. We need an all-of-the-above approach to transportation that preserves jobs, maintains consumer choice, and allows the free market — not government bureaucrats — to decide what cars Americans drive.

The stakes could not be higher for Michigan. If these EV mandates continue to march forward unchecked, we will see more layoffs, more factory closures, and more skilled workers forced out of jobs they’ve held for generations. We will see our state’s proud auto legacy erode, and we will see working families bear the brunt of misguided policies that put radical environmentalism above economic common sense.

It’s time for real leadership in Michigan — leadership that puts our workers first, that protects our auto industry, and that respects the choices of Michigan’s families. We cannot afford to sit back while Whitmer and her elitist allies inside Washington D.C.’s Beltway destroy the very foundations of our economy. It’s time to reject these government mandates and fight for Michigan’s future.

Michigan state Rep. Bryan Posthumus is a fifth-generation farmer, co-founder of West Michigan Hopyards, and the Michigan House Republican Floor Leader.