Puri: Hall's Budget Approach 'Destined For Failure' Since The Beginning

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 06/30/2025) With one day to go until the statutory July 1 budget deadline expires, House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) told MIRS on Monday that Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township)’s budget approach has been destined for failure from the start.

Last week, after a meeting between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) and Hall, the Speaker told reporters at least eight times that House Republicans have been prioritizing a July 1 deadline the whole time and have been “the most vocal” about the importance of that deadline.

However, Hall said just last month that when House Republicans pass a budget, it will be “well after July 1st.”

Puri also said the House passing the HB 4161 and HB 4162, which the Republicans marketed as a government shutdown prevention plan, was an indication from the start that the July 1 deadline was not going to be met.

“Developing a budget doesn’t happen overnight. It does not exist in a vacuum,” Puri said. “None of his approach prohibited … having good faith negotiations, committee hearings, proposing budgets well ahead of schedule and not doing this all at the last minute.”

The House passed its version of a K-12 budget bill, HB 4577, less than three weeks ago.

Puri said he has been in consistent communication with Brinks and Whitmer and both of their offices, but Hall has left him out of conversations and meetings.

Following Hall’s remarks last month at the Mackinac Policy Conference (MPC) during which Puri invited Hall to meet with him during upcoming openings in his schedule and Hall’s response was “I don’t need you,” Puri said Hall’s rhetoric continues to be a galvanizing force for House Democrats.

“I think everyone in our caucus realizes that he’s not someone that we’re able to work, and it forces him to be boxed in and to find the votes in his own caucus, but you see him struggle with that,” Puri said, referencing last week when Rep. Brad Paquette (R-Niles)’s HB 4214 failed on the board 52-51 without enough support from House Republicans for passage.

“The Speaker put up a bill the other day that needed House Democratic votes, and we were not there for him. He ended up actually needing us and without that, the bill ended up failing on the board. I think that’s going to continue to be an example of the dynamic that we find ourselves in here,” Puri said.

Puri said whether it’s the example of HB 4214 or an instance of Hall needing House Democrats to vote in favor of a budget because members of his own caucus won’t, those situations necessitate bipartisan cooperation.

In its absence, there is gridlock.

Puri said House Democrats will support legislation that prioritizes their values, but if the Speaker leads with divisive political rhetoric, his caucus won’t support it.