WASHINGTON ― Detroit U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and the top Democrat on a key House panel are pressing the owner of the Ambassador Bridge to reveal details about his reported meeting last week with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about a soon-to-open competing span, the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Tlaib and U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, in a new letter are demanding information about Lutnick's meeting with Matthew Moroun, son of the late Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun, and accuse him of using his influence as a donor to President Donald Trump "to jeopardize American commerce to protect your company’s bottom line."

The Lutnick-Moroun meeting happened hours before Trump posted his threat to block the opening of the Gordie Howe bridge, according to the New York Times. The bridge, which Canada paid $4.7 billion to build, is jointly owned by Michigan and Canada and is set to open this spring.

"If your interference in the Gordie Howe International Bridge project succeeds, it could increase traffic congestion, reduce economic opportunity, and damage trade between the United States and Canada," the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Matthew Moroun, a Grosse Pointe businessman.

"To understand any undue influence you may have had on the United States’s economic and foreign policy, we request information regarding your communications with the Trump administration."

The Democrats want records related to the Feb. 9 communications between the Moroun family and the Commerce Department or the White House regarding the Gordie Howe span. They also requested similar information from Lutnick last week.

A spokesman for the Moroun family's Detroit International Bridge Co., which holds a monopoly on international trucking in and out of Detroit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The Democrats on the committee are in the minority, meaning they can't initiate an investigation by the panel or compel information by subpoena, though they can seek voluntary cooperation by a corporation or individual to provide the information.

The White House last week suggested Trump is looking to amend a key 2012 presidential permit to get a "better deal" for the American people than the 2012 arrangement that then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, made with Canada.

That agreement called for Michigan and Canada to share 50-50 ownership of the bridge, with Canada financing the $4.7 billion span and later recouping its investment with toll revenues. Canada agreed to cover the full cost of the new Detroit River span after a Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature refused to contribute state tax dollars to the project. Construction began in 2018.

"The president believes that the United States should own at least half of the bridge, have shared authority over what passes across it, and participate in the economic benefits generated by its use. All international infrastructure projects require a presidential permit, and the president is within his absolute right to amend it," a White House official told The Detroit News.

"Under the current terms, Canada gets all their money back with interest before any money ever flows to Michigan. The president wants a better deal for the American people."

Just weeks ago, Trump's Department of Homeland Security published a rule on Jan. 30 formally establishing the Gordie Howe International Bridge as a port of entry for both immigration and customs purposes.

The rule, which takes effect March 2, indicates that the agency has already completed the assignment of Customs and Border Patrol officers to the bridge's new customs plaza in Detroit.

In the federal rule, DHS stated that the new bridge has the potential to increase international trade between the U.S. and Canada, will create benefits and millions of dollars in savings for the public, and could reduce wait times at all border crossings in the area.

This wasn't the first time Trump indicated support for the new bridge. Back in 2017, Trump, in a joint statement with then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the bridge would serve as "a vital economic link between our two countries."

Michigan Democrats in the GOP-controlled U.S. House on Thursday introduced legislation seeking to prohibit federal officials, "including the president," from delaying or impeding the opening or attempting to close the Gordie Howe International Bridge and its port of entry unless approved by Congress or requested by the governor of Michigan.

It also gives the state the right of action to sue in federal court to compel compliance with the law.

Moroun has given millions of dollars to Republican political causes over the last decade, according to federal campaign finance disclosures. That includes $1.2 million to the Republican National Committee, including $250,000 to the RNC in 2025 alone, according to the federal disclosures.

Federal disclosures show he donated $600,000 to the Trump Victory fundraising committee across 2019 and 2020. He has also contributed $60,000 to the Michigan Republican Party's federal account over the last decade.

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the binational organization established to govern the Gordie Howe span, said this week that the project remains "on track for opening in early 2026."

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