Republicans celebrate taking back majority in Michigan House

Michigan state House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) takes the gavel restoring Republicans’ majority in the Michigan state House on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

It’s been a hard few years for Republicans in Michigan, but Wednesday marks a day of victory and unity, state House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) said as he was unanimously voted in as leader of the newly Republican majority state House.

The battle to reclaim the House, which had been in Republican hands for over a decade before Democrats clinched a slim majority in 2022, was hard won, Hall said, noting fractures that permeated the Michigan GOP after President Joe Biden won the presidency in 2020 and Democrats won state offices across the ballot in 2022.

“There are a lot of …  people here that worked with us along the way to help us win this majority back. It was hard and when you think about it, this was a pretty broken party when we started and not a lot of people thought we could win and so we had to go and work really hard to do it,” Hall said.

In November, as Michigan helped send former President Donald Trump back to the White House, Hall led the charge to flip Michigan’s House majority from 56-54 Democratic majority to a 58-52 Republican majority.

And after Hall raised the gavel in triumph as the House voted him into leadership of the chamber, he thanked previous leaders in the state party, former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, former Attorney General Bill Schuette and former Gov. Rick Snyder.

“I think that Gov. Snyder was kind of Elon Musk before that was cool. The governor is a guy who ran to reinvent government, right? He ran to reinvent government and bring entrepreneurship to government, before that was cool,” Hall said. “You were ahead of your time.”

New House Minority Leader Rep. Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) offered his support for Hall as speaker, seconding the motion and speaking about the necessity for bipartisanship following a frenzied election year that confirmed Michigan’s status as a purple state.

“Our actions in this chamber resonate far beyond these walls. They signal to the great people of Michigan that their elected leaders deliver solutions, not divisions, progress, not partisanship,” Puri said. 

The unanimous vote for Hall followed tradition in the House. However, eight Republicans voted against state Rep. Joe Tate (D-Detroit) as speaker at the start of the 2023-24 legislative session. Most of the Republicans hailed from the right-wing Freedom Caucus.

Hall has the opportunity to reach across the aisle to deliver on the promises lawmakers across the aisle made in the last year campaigning for office, Puri said on the floor. Those promises include bipartisan interests to make the lives of Michigan families better, addressing the rising cost of living, strengthening educational systems and making communities safer.

“As speaker, representative Hall will be bestowed with the responsibility to demonstrate leadership that ensures these priorities are addressed through cooperation and mutual respect,” Puri said. “This is the moment where our deeds must meet our dialog. If we are truly committed to restoring the trust in our institutions, to building confidence in our state and aspiring to be the best place to raise a family, it begins by believing in a better politics that puts people first in the spirit of building a better Michigan rooted in consensus and collaboration.”

Keeping his speech brief, Hall did not speak on legislative priorities. But in the final weeks of the previous legislative session, he conveyed interest in passing a Republican-led plan to repair the state’s roads and introduce reforms to preserve the tipped wage credit as the state is set to phase out the policy as part of a $15 minimum wage hike set to go into effect in February, per a state Supreme Court decision.

The fist bills that will be introduced in the House in the 103rd Legislature were measures to amend impending changes on tipped wages and sick leave requirements, introduced by state Reps. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Twp.) and John Roth (R-Interlochen).

The bills would slow down the planned path to a $15 minimum wage from the start of 2028 to the start of 2029, preserve the tipped wage credit and maintain the state’s standards for sick time, which do not mandate employers offer sick time for businesses with under 50 employees.

House Republicans have been clear that under their leadership, the “priorities of constituents would be put first,” DeBoyer said in a news release Wednesday.

Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Martin) swears in in the Michigan state House on the first session day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Michigan state House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) (center) poses with his wife (left) in the Michigan state House on the first session day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Rep. Jon Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming) hold his daughter in the Michigan state House on the first session day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Rep. Jon Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming) hold his daughter in the Michigan state House on the first session day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden swears in members of the Michigan state House on the first session day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Former Attorney General Bill Schuette (right) attends the first session day of the Michigan state House on Jan. 8, 2025 as his son Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) begins his second term. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden swears in members of the Michigan state House on the first session day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford) is joined by his wife Meshawn Maddock in the Michigan state House on the first session day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Michigan state House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) takes the gavel restoring Republicans’ majority in the Michigan state House on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Michigan state House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) takes the gavel restoring Republicans’ majority in the Michigan state House on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

“We’ve heard from countless hardworking small business owners and their dedicated employees about what this ruling would mean for them,” DeBoyer said. “It would be a catastrophe. Many small businesses would close, their employees would be out of work, and the places that remain open would have to significantly raise their prices on people who go out and support businesses in their community, which will lead to an even bigger fight to stay open.”

One change Republicans are implementing in the 2025-26 session is granting the House Oversight Committee the power to issue subpoenas without having to have a majority in the House vote to permit a subpoena.

The hope is that the committee would not have to issue any subpoenas and that lawmakers will be able to access information necessary to shine a light on state government, Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) told reporters Wednesday.

In an effort to audit state government, the House Oversight Committee will also have several arms to monitor government effectiveness, mainly six subcommittees, Harris said.

Those subcommittees include examining weaponization of state government, child welfare, corporate subsidies and state investments, public health and foreign influence, Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown Twp.) said in a news release earlier this week.

It’s expected that the GOP-controlled Oversight Committee will aggressively seek to hold the state’s Democratic executive officials accountable, particularly Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who’s considered a top 2028 presidential candidate, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who’s expected to launch a 2026 gubernatorial bid.

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