Hall Says He Was 'Charitable' Moving Duck Bill, Then Takes Aim At Senate Dems

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/27/2026) House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said he was “feeling charitable” when he helped move a bill, HB 4044, to designate the wood duck as Michigan's official state duck, taking a jab at bill sponsor Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) in the process.

He told reporters following a press conference with U.S. Secretary of Education that he was trying to be nice to Farhat, describing him as an “overeager guy” who “runs into a lot of dead ends.”

“For some reason, he really cares about this wood duck bill,” Hall said, adding that he himself is more focused on “important issues like, how do we help our kids' education?”

The measure, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law yesterday, designates the wood duck as the state’s official duck — a proposal Hall framed as a lower priority compared to broader policy debates.

“He can go back to his district and all those people in Dearborn that must have been telling him that they wanted this bill to name the state duck, the wood duck, and maybe he'll get reelected because of it, right?” Hall said.

Still, Hall said advancing the bill reflects his approach to leadership, arguing that helping members achieve their legislative priorities can build goodwill and momentum for other negotiations.

“We all run for different reasons, and I guess why I’ve been such a successful speaker is because I meet people where they are, and I help them get their priorities done,” he said.

“I think we will see more attempts from the Speaker to build relationships across the aisle as they head into the minority,” Farhat said in response to the Hall's remarks. “This is a good first step in rebuilding trust. Who would have known the symbolism built into the passage of the Wood Duck bill.”

According to Ducks Unlimited, the wood duck is one of six cavity-nesting duck species in North America and the only member of its genus in the western hemisphere. At the turn of the 20th century, wood ducks were driven to the brink of extinction by market hunting and widespread loss of bottomland hardwood forests and other important habitats.

Protections granted by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the restoration of crucial habitats helped wood ducks achieve a dramatic recovery over the following decades, and their populations are now healthy.

Wood Ducks are common in riparian wetlands, forested swamps, and freshwater marshes. Their range is restricted to North America, with two disjunct breeding populations, one that ranges from southern British Columbia, Washington and Montana south along the west coast to California and the other from southern Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec south across roughly the eastern half of the US to the Gulf Coast and Cuba.