LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — With two years left in office, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she’s focused on landing a semiconductor plant, funding the roads, and getting Michigan’s kids to read.

The priorities, laid out May 29 during the Mackinac Policy Conference, were framed as bipartisan goals, though the specifics remain unsettled. 

MORE NEWS: Lansing Continues Its DEI Meetings Under Cloud of Uncertainty

“Being able to make chips top to bottom in America will allow us to stay on the cutting edge of AI,” Whitmer said. “Whoever dominates this technology from design to production will dominate the 21st Century.”

Whitmer said she’s been pressing federal officials to back Michigan as a host site for a chip facility, a project she wants secured before she leaves office in 2026.

She also revisited a familiar talking point: road funding. “We’re inching closer toward a deal,” she said, without offering specifics. The House has passed a proposal, but any final agreement is expected to be tied to ongoing state budget negotiations.

Whitmer then highlighted literacy as a critical issue, noting that only one in four Michigan fourth graders can read proficiently.

“We can do hard things,” she said. “To find what you can do together, it’s the harder path to take in the moment, but it’s always the right one.”