U.S. House Democrats Criticize Trump Tariffs, Promote Manufacturing During GM Romulus Plant Tour

Michigan Advance

May 11, 2026

Ro Khanna, a Democratic member of the U.S. House from California’s Silicon Valley, spent his Saturday asking staff and union members at the General Motors Romulus Propulsion Systems facility for their ideas on policies to make sure plants like theirs can succeed in Michigan and around the United States — specifically, how to ensure that American manufacturing can compete fairly with Chinese manufacturing.

Khanna, the ranking member of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, was joined by U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), a member of the Select Committee, and Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) for a tour of the Romulus facility.

“We’re really here to learn what policies we should have to be tough with China’s dumping, to make sure that we’re supporting the electric vehicle industry, to make sure that we’re supporting the battery industry, and see what we can learn for the China committee,” Khanna said. “So your insights on any of the trade issues with China would be very helpful.”

The visit was part of a “Heartland Tour” by Khanna and other members of the committee through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan — other stops included a steel manufacturing plant, an automotive glassmaker and an electric vehicle battery cell manufacturer, as well as a stop at the UAW Local 600 chapter in Dearborn.

U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna and Debbie Dingell speak to UAW Vice President Mike Booth at the General Motors Romulus Propulsion Systems facility. May 9, 2026. | Photo by Katherine Dailey/Michigan Advance.

Stevens emphasized the importance of this visit in advance of President Donald Trump’s visit to China this week and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We are all very concerned about the trade rules and the upending of worker protections, trade rules that the entire supply chain for automotives in North America has been playing by,” she said, emphasizing that she hoped that Michigan autoworker and automaker voices would be heard in summits like the one happening between Trump and Xi.

All three representatives on the visit were critical of Trump’s trade policy and its impacts on American manufacturing, especially on automotive manufacturers in Michigan.

“Instead of tackling China, we saw a trade war begin with Canada, which has been obviously pretty damaging to the country’s manufacturing base. We’ve lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs in 10 straight months,” Stevens added, emphasizing the important role of unions. “We recognize that we have to have a 21st-century industrial policy plan.”

Eric Feldman, executive director of U.S. Federal Affairs at General Motors, also emphasized the national footprint and success in the automotive marketplace, including for electric vehicles, to the members of Congress prior to the tour.

He highlighted that there are around a million jobs either directly or indirectly supported by General Motors — including over 94,000 GM employees.

Throughout the tour, the members saw the facility at work — staff noted that it is a 24-hour endeavor, with shifts at the plant continuing all the time.

The Romulus facility, which first opened in 1976, is going to become a full transmission plant, having in the past focused on making diesel engines and then transitioning to gas engines. Currently, the plant primarily makes transmissions for larger rear-wheel-drive vehicles, like the Chevrolet Silverado.

Asked specifically what she would hope to see coming out of Trump’s meeting in China, Stevens added that it would be ideal for her to see the summit conclude without letting more Chinese cars into the United States.

“We are really eager to embark on a rigorous review process of USMCA, to strengthen the worker protections, to strengthen American content and to beat China,” she continued. “We’re going to beat China with good trade policies, alongside our innovation partners and proven trade partner allies.”

Output carriers, a piece of transmissions for vehicles, at the General Motors Romulus Propulsion Systems plant. May 9, 2026. | Photo by Katherine Dailey/Michigan Advance.

Stevens is one of three Democrats seeking the nomination in the August primary for U.S. Senate. Also in the race are state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) and former director of the Detroit Health Department, Abdul El-Sayed.

Dingell told reporters after the tour that she and her colleagues are worried that policies on investment into Chinese manufacturing might be suddenly announced via social media by Trump without any warning. Dingell is not a member of the special committee, though she is a part of the Congressional U.S.-China Working Group.

Throughout the visit, Khanna emphasized the importance of hearing directly from manufacturers about what support the American auto industry could use from Washington — he added that the chair of the Select Committee, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia), was open to working across the aisle on the issue.

“If there are bipartisan ideas on the China committee that can make sure that there’s not unfair competition, that we’re not allowing in Chinese cars or Chinese subsidies, and that we’re making sure that our workers are competing fairly, we want to hear that,” Khanna said. “We want to hear what you need to make sure that plants like these are succeeding.”

“We cannot allow China to be flooding their cars, and we cannot allow them to be setting up companies in the United States where they’re not playing by the rules,” he added after the tour.

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