Congressional Democrats are pressing for answers after reports surfaced that a major Republican donor may have influenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threat to delay the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a critical infrastructure project linking Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit Michigan.
In a letter sent Wednesday, members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee called on Matthew Moroun, CEO of the Detroit International Bridge Company and owner of the competing Ambassador Bridge, to provide records of a reported February 9 meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The request follows a New York Times report that Lutnick met with Moroun just hours before Trump posted a social media message warning Canada that the bridge’s opening could be stalled unless certain concessions were made.
According to the report, Lutnick later briefed the president on the discussion. Democrats say the timing raises concerns about whether private business interests may have shaped U.S. economic and foreign policy decisions.
Rep wrote “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,”. Robert Garcia of California and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan in their letter to Moroun. They requested details of any communications between Moroun, his family and members of the Trump administration related to the bridge project.
Garcia also sent a separate letter last week to Lutnick, requesting documentation of the reported meeting and any communications concerning the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the Ambassador Bridge, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Lutnick has been given until February 25 to respond, while Moroun’s deadline is March 4.
Calls to the Detroit International Bridge Company were not immediately returned, and Lutnick’s office has yet to comment publicly.
Federal election records show that Moroun has contributed more than $600,000 to Trump’s presidential campaigns and related committees since 2019, along with additional donations to the Republican Party and GOP congressional candidates. Lobbying disclosures indicate Moroun’s company spent over $2.5 million during Trump’s first term advocating on issues tied to international bridge construction and operations. Since Trump returned to office last year, the company has reported spending another $250,000 on lobbying efforts.
The firm representing the Detroit International Bridge Company, Ballard Partners, has notable ties to the administration. It previously employed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In 2021, while at the firm, Bondi registered to lobby Congress and the State Department on behalf of the bridge company.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge has long been a point of contention for the Moroun family. Matthew Moroun’s father, Manuel Moroun, fiercely opposed the Gordie Howe International Bridge project before his death in 2020, arguing that the new crossing would divert traffic and toll revenue from the Ambassador Bridge.
Since its announcement in 2012, the Moroun family has invested tens of millions of dollars in advertising campaigns, ballot initiatives, lawsuits, and trade challenges aimed at halting construction. Those efforts ultimately failed, and the project moved forward under a joint agreement between the Canadian government and the state of Michigan to expand capacity in one of North America’s busiest trade corridors.
Now, with the bridge nearing completion, Democrats say transparency is very important to ensure that U.S. policy decisions are not being swayed by private interests at the expense of cross-border commerce.
The investigation surpluses another layer of scrutiny to the Trump administration’s handling of economic relations with Canada and raises big questions about the influence of major donors in shaping federal policy.
