Rep. Haley Stevens Tours Auburn Hills Defense Consultant’s Facility on ‘Made in Michigan’ Tour
House Rep. Haley Stevens continued her August ‘Made in Michigan’ Tour on Thursday as part of her 2026 Senate campaign, stopping at a defense consultant’s facility in Auburn Hills.
Stevens spoke with personnel from Munro & Associates, an engineering and manufacturing consulting firm that specializes in streamlining and cost-reduction strategies for manufacturers.
Thursday’s visit began with a conversation and presentation from Munro Defense at the firm’s commercial building in Auburn Hills. Munro Defense works on optimizing the production of weapons systems in support of defense contractors, government agencies, and military branches. The firm has worked with mobile nuclear reactors, aircraft, and ships, and has worked with entities such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and NASA. Among those participating in Thursday’s conversation were Sue Munro, CEO of Munro Defense, Dave Foreman, VP at Munro Defense, and attorney Mike Stone.
Stevens spoke with the company reps about their work in the defense industry, the desire to maintain U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities, and inviting input from the private sector to inform her role as a lawmaker. She mentioned her membership on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and emphasized a need for having technology domestically in the United States. “My, you know, big thing here, it’s like, beat China”, Stevens said after a speaker expressed concern over the capability of launching new products, adding that this was an area that should be presented to the committee’s chairman and brought to a hearing. Stevens expanded further to say “we are in this race,” and that “what we are trying to show is that open, free market, capitalist democracies succeed and win”.
Congresswoman Stevens, who represents Michigan’s 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, mentioned her recently-proposed Unearth America’s Future Act, which aims to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals and invest in domestic mineral production. Stevens also expressed interest in putting forth legislation to preserve technologies through equipment storage, amid an evolving technological landscape. She expressed appreciation for functional older equipment, and said “it’d be neat to be able to have DoD store some of that”.
Following the table conversation, Stevens joined the company reps for a tour of some of the firm’s facilities, viewing vehicle components and discussing the company’s work in disassembly and simplifying manufacturing processes. Speaking with a pair of workers next to disassembled Tesla components, Stevens invited input on their observations and needs, and mentioned a desire to reduce bureaucratic hurdles, telling them “you’re the efficiency masters” and thanking the two.
Thursday’s visit was one of a series of stops Stevens has made across Michigan in recent weeks, with prior stops in cities including Livonia, Detroit, and Grand Rapids as she seeks the Democratic Party nomination for the state’s 2026 Senate election. The party will not have an incumbent running in next year’s election, following Senator Gary Peters’ decision, announced in January, not to seek reelection to a third term.
The race for the Democratic nomination has also drawn bids from Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed. The party’s primary next year will precede the November 3rd, 2026 general election, which will decide Peters’ successor in the U.S. Senate.