Hall: Any Quest For A Common Ground Is Thanks To House Republicans

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 05/27/2026) Kicking off the second day of the Mackinac Policy Conference, speakers from across the political spectrum repeatedly returned to the conference’s central theme: “the quest for common ground.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah, and former Vice President Mike Pence, among others, framed bipartisan cooperation as essential to the country's future.

For Whitmer, the theme was a chance to tout her history as governor, working with President Donald Trump and, more recently, the Republican-led House. It also served as a departure point for her ending remarks Wednesday as to how Michigan can forge a successful path forward.

Pence often fell back on the theme throughout his speech and panel, maintaining that while politics is the most divided he's ever seen, it's not the American people that are divided, it's the politicians.

The theme of uniting both sides came to a screeching halt when House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) joined the stage.

“I see a lot of the politicians up here saying all the right things about common ground, but in reality, we don't see any of them actually accomplishing common ground,” Hall said, adding that the exception is the work he's done with Whitmer.

With only 10 minutes awarded to him, he still made his mark with his speech, removing himself from the bipartisan narrative to speak about how proud he was of his unified Republican caucus.

He also steered away from the rehearsed, written speeches, reading off a teleprompter like the previous speakers did, pivoting to what he always does: Speak right off the dome.

He said it was the House Republicans who worked together with the Governor to get the Selfridge money across the finish line before the June 1 deadline. In his celebration of the accomplishment, he also took the moment to make a jab at the House Democrats.

Hall noted that 41 Democrats voted against funding a new fighter mission in Selfridge, adding that “of course” they still all wanted to attend the bill signing.

Hall argued Republicans have been able to force bipartisan deals despite only controlling one chamber of state government, repeatedly casting House Republicans as the driving force behind recent compromises on roads, budget negotiations and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.

“I think in order to find common ground in this environment, we have to be very unified as a party, and we have to push through all that negativity,” Hall said. “What I found is when you have real leaders at the table like myself, and what we’re seeing recently from Gretchen Whitmer, we can move all of those other politicians to come to get to yes on a deal.”

He also pointed to an agreement extending Michigan’s participation in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, led by “rising star of the Republican caucus” Rep. Rylee Linting (R-Wyandotte), which he said prevented thousands of physicians from losing the ability to practice in the state.

He, of course, also didn't lose the opportunity to talk about the victory over “waste, fraud and abuse” in ongoing budget negotiations, referencing a recent legal settlement involving legislative oversight of executive branch work projects spending. Hall claimed the agreement would free up hundreds of millions of dollars for the upcoming budget and help avoid tax increases.

“So we made a settlement deal. I sued every department in state government,” Hall said. “They gave us 100% of what we asked for in the lawsuit, and now we're going to use that money this year in our budget, and because of that, your taxes are not going to go up. It's a good thing, really.”

He said that despite these “naysayers," referring to lobbyists, members of the media, and many Democratic politicians, who he said attempt to “obstruct, criticize, and attack,” he and his caucus have been able to persevere.

He then gave audience members a taste of what's to come with the budget, highlighting his property tax reform package that passed last week. He advertised it as another win for the Republicans, with the help of “one courageous” Democrat, Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit), “someone that actually represents Detroit." Whitsett's vote marked her first since August.

“All these people that say they're for common ground and civility are hating on our plans,” Hall said. “They're negative on our plans . . . And we're just pushing through, pushing through, pushing through. And I will tell you, when we get this deal on the budget, you're going to have property tax reform, and it's going to save you a lot of money. And these people are going to vote for it, just like we did last year on roads, just like we did on HEAT, the Hall Ethics, Accountability, and Transparency Plan, which is the biggest transparency change in Michigan's government.”

Another accomplishment, something he said that'd never been done, was passing a budget lower than the year before. Something they plan to do this year as well with the property tax reform.

“I do want to also remind you of the importance of this Republican House majority,” Hall said. “We do a lot of the dirty work for you guys. While you guys go out and talk about civility and common ground … The only thing the Republicans control in this state is the House, but yet it seems very equal in terms of what both sides are getting, and that's because we have a strong House Republican majority that's going to get balanced results for you. So, thank you for having me. Maybe they'll give me more time next time. What do you think? I'll see you later."