Trump transportation secretary to join fundraiser for Rep. Bill Huizenga as he mulls Michigan Senate bid

Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News on May 30, 2025

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, is headlining a fundraiser next week for U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, as the west Michigan congressman readies a campaign for the state's open U.S. Senate seat.

Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman, is listed as a "special guest" for the dinner fundraiser to be held in Washington, D.C., on June 4 to benefit Huizenga, a Holland Republican, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by The Detroit News.

The gesture by Duffy is another signal that Huizenga is taking steps toward a formal Senate bid. It's also an indicator of support for Huizenga within Trump's orbit, while leaders at the National Republican Senatorial Committee have tried to avoid a high-profile primary by getting behind former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers' second bid for the upper chamber.

Huizenga, who has teased a Senate campaign, told reporters Thursday at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference that he could announce as soon as this summer. Huizenga said he'd been receiving positive responses to his potential Senate bid while at the Mackinac conference this week.

"I want to make sure we win," Huizenga said. "I want to make sure we've got the right candidate to do that. Personally, I think it should have been won last election."

Duffy and Huizenga are good friends, having arrived in the U.S. House in 2011 as part of the same class. They're both in their mid-50s, have large families and served together on the Financial Services Committee. Huizenga showed up at Duffy's confirmation hearing before the Senate in January to show his support.

Michigan's Senate seat will be open in 2026 following the decision by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, not to seek another term.

Rogers of White Lake Township narrowly lost last year's Senate election to Democrat Elissa Slotkin of Holly by about 19,000 votes, 48.6%-48.3%. Trump endorsed Rogers last cycle, but the president hasn't endorsed yet this round.

Rogers, former chair of the House Intelligence panel, has garnered the endorsements of Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the Senate GOP's campaign arm. Punchbowl News reported this month that more than a dozen GOP senators, including Thune and Scott, are slated to attend a fundraiser for Rogers next month.

The Detroit Regional Chamber commissioned a statewide poll of 600 registered voters on potential matchups for U.S. Senate in Michigan, showing that Rogers was outperforming Huizenga in hypothetical matchups with Democratic contenders. Only 33% of registered voters surveyed said they were aware of who Huizenga was, while 75% said they knew who Rogers was.

Huizenga argued the results showed he was doing "pretty well" without spending any money on a statewide campaign, and that Rogers had a "really hard cap" on the votes he would be able to win in November 2026 after his statewide race in 2024.

"Are we going to run the same play and expect a different result?" Huizenga said.

National Democrats this spring added Huizenga's district to its 2026 battleground, saying it intends to target his seat among 35 vulnerable Republicans nationwide. Huizenga won reelection to Michigan's 4th District last fall by 12 percentage points over Democratic nominee Jessica Swartz, 55%-43%.

Swartz, who is running for the seat again, in a fundraising email Thursday claimed that Huizenga was contemplating pulling out of the race to run for Senate "because he knows the momentum is on our side."

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—Staff writer Craig Mauger contributed to this story.