As the beginning of the new year approaches, it’s important to take time to reflect on the year coming to a close. 2025 has been a heavy year marked with unprecedented challenges and uncertainties — but it’s also been a year of working hard to overcome those setbacks and pushing forward despite the many obstacles in our way. And together, Michigan Senate Democrats made meaningful progress toward a better, brighter future for our residents and our communities — because we’ve been entrusted to serve you, and we’re in your corner.
In 2025, Michigan Senate Democrats successfully:
✅ Delivered Another Bipartisan State Budget
Senate Democrats worked across the aisle to pass another responsible budget that boosts public education, makes historic investments in our aging roads and bridges, protects access to health care and other vital services, mitigates the worst effects of federal budget cuts, and lowers costs for seniors and families. Our 2026 budget also continues the widely popular universal free breakfast and lunch program that kept over 800,000 Michigan kids fed at school last year. We’re proud of our efforts to negotiate and pass another bipartisan budget that puts you first.
✅ Fought Back Against Federal Cuts & Chaos
Senate Democrats hosted events in our local communities to hear directly from concerned constituents about how they’ve been affected by the irresponsible actions of the Trump administration.
While Washington Republicans spent the year dismantling entire federal agencies, gutting access to health care and critical services, and stoking unprecedented confusion, fear, and uncertainty in the American people, Michigan Senate Democrats have done everything in our power to safeguard our state from the reckless actions of the federal government.
From holding numerous committee hearings to shed light on the detrimental impacts of devastating Medicaid cuts, sweeping federal workforce terminations, and Trump’s trade war to our above actions in the state budget and proposing $71 million in relief funding to continue Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the longest federal government shutdown in history, we’ve taken a decisive stand against the dangerous actions of the Trump administration.
✅ Improved Government Transparency & Reliability
You deserve an efficient, accountable state government that truly serves you. That’s why we made Senate Bills 1 and 2 the first pieces of legislation we voted on this year, passing them with nearly unanimous, bipartisan support. These bills would expand the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to subject the Legislature and governor’s office to public records requests, expanding government transparency and fostering public trust. Similarly, we championed legislation that increases transparency in the state budget process, ensuring our government remains accountable and accessible to the public.
Senate Democrats also passed a bill package with bipartisan support that works to make our state’s elections as effective, transparent, and reliable as possible. From combating election disinformation to improving integrity in the petition circulation process, this legislation underscores our continued commitment to government transparency and efficiency.
✅ Supported Michigan Families, Veterans, & Local Communities
Our people are our state’s greatest asset, so we’ve worked hard this year to ensure that every Michigan community has what it needs to thrive: access to health care, economic security, public safety, and more. This included:
- Expanding Rx Kids, a first-of-its-kind program that provides pregnant moms and new parents with a no-strings-attached cash allowance, helping to fight childhood poverty, improve access to housing and food, and tackle maternal and infant health disparities;
- Passing the historic Momnibus bill package to ensure greater integrity and accountability in Michigan’s maternal health care system;
- Making our communities safer by investing in our first responders and advancing commonsense gun safety policies;
- Safeguarding our seniors by advancing legislation to better detect and prevent elder abuse and exploitation and unanimously passing a bill to create a statewide Silver Alert public notification system to help bring missing seniors home;
- Strengthening protections and benefits for Michigan veterans and their families; and
- Working to lower costs and ease the financial burden of life-saving medications by passing legislation that would create an independent Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB).
While we spent 2025 working hard to advance legislation and budget investments that move our state forward and fighting back against Republicans’ chaos in Washington and the Michigan House, our efforts aren’t stopping there — we’re already planning ahead for the new year and crafting legislative priorities that continue to lower everyday costs, support our kids, foster economic opportunity, protect access to health care, and improve our overall quality of life here in Michigan.