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U.S. Rep Kildee reflects on upcoming term

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U.S. Representative Dan Kildee speaks at an election watch party Nov. 8, 2022 in Flint.
Teresa Homsi

Michigan Democratic US Congressman Dan Kildee said he’s prepared to work with a potential Republican majority in his next term. This is after he secured his seat in last week’s elections, but Republicans stand poised to take control of the house.

In his sixth congressional term, Kildee represents Michigan’s newly drawn 8th district, which includes Saginaw, Flint, Bay City, and Midland.

Kildee said the new, more conservative district makes sense, and he’s looking forward to fairly representing his constituents.

“I’m hopeful that the new leadership in the House will still be open to a bipartisan approach,” Kildee said. “I have some concerns about that because of the reality of the current Republican leadership, it’s a little different than it was with Speaker Boehner or Speaker Ryan.”

With Donald Trump’s recently announced bid for the presidency, Kildee said he hopes the Republican Party chooses to reject the extreme ideas Trump represents.

“President Trump has done more to move us away from that kind of [bipartisan] collaboration,” Kildee said. “The Republican Party is the party of Donald Trump until they prove otherwise. It’s going to be really important in the next many months to see whether or not that’s the case - I hope it is.”

In his upcoming term, Kildee said he will fight for a $35-dollar cap on insulin and expand manufacturing opportunities in Mid-Michigan.

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Teresa Homsi is an environmental reporter and Report for America Corps Member based in northern Michigan for WCMU. She covers rural environmental issues, focused on contamination, conservation, and climate change.