Democrats open probe of Trump and Lutnick links to Ambassador Bridge owner

House Democrats have requested records after reports said President Trump threatened to block the Gordie Howe bridge following a meeting between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun, and Michigan Democrats introduced a bill now referred to the House foreign affairs committee.

Democrats in the U.S. House are launching an investigation into reported ties between the Trump administration and the owner of the Ambassador Bridge after reports that the president threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The oversight committee's top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia, asked the administration to turn over records related to the Gordie Howe project and any communications with Matthew Moroun. The inquiry follows reporting that Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Moroun and later spoke with the president. The two bridges connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit and sit roughly five kilometres apart. What officials have said: - Rep. Robert Garcia wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting a broad set of records related to the Gordie Howe International Bridge and any communications with Matthew Moroun. - The New York Times reported that President Trump threatened to block the bridge's opening shortly after Lutnick met with Moroun and then spoke with the president. - The Moroun family owns the long-standing Ambassador Bridge and has opposed the publicly owned Gordie Howe span, and the family and company have been significant Republican donors and lobbyists. - A group of Michigan Democratic House members introduced the Michigan-Canada Partnership Act to prohibit federal officials from impeding the bridge's opening; the bill has been referred to the House foreign affairs committee. Summary: The inquiry was prompted by reports of a presidential threat linked to a meeting between Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun, and House Democrats have formally requested related records. The Michigan-Canada Partnership Act has been introduced and sent to the House foreign affairs committee; the legislative and investigative outcomes are undetermined at this time.