Jocelyn Benson Tours Housing Construction Site, Slams the Latest Trump-James Tax on Housing Materials

Aug

2026

PRESS RELEASE

Jocelyn Benson Tours Housing Construction Site, Slams the Latest Trump-James Tax on Housing Materials

Today, Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for Governor Jocelyn Benson toured a housing construction site in Muskegon where she discussed her plans to drive down housing costs and called out the latest round of “John James Tax” hikes.

At a time when Michigan already has a limited housing supply and the cost of housing is on the rise, we need a governor who is focused on driving down costs so Michiganders can afford to live where they work and keep a roof over their heads. Jocelyn is the only candidate in this race with a plan to get it done. Meanwhile, James has taken every opportunity to raise the cost of housing for Michiganders, backing reckless tariffs that create delays and raise costs while skipping votes to lower the cost of housing.

“It's not lost on me, the impact of tariffs, on developments like this: slowing down the process, increasing the cost of everything from steel to lumber to windows. This tax of tariffs that the Trump administration and my opponent John James have supported, have directly impacted and hurt communities and developments like this, and have slowed them down,” said Jocelyn Benson. “I, as governor, want to make sure we're streamlining processes so that things like this that are so important to the local economy are able, not just to be built, but to be built in a timely fashion, so we can generate economic growth and development here in Muskegon.”

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