Trump mega-donors pause Wisconsin development project, citing economic uncertainty

Uline, owned by billionaire Republicans Richard and Liz Uihlein, halts construction of a new facility in Kenosha

Uline, a business and shipping supplies company, is halting construction of a new distribution facility in Kenosha, citing economic uncertainty.

The company’s director of construction, Brad Folkert, told Kenosha’s city planning commission that the pause stems from current economic conditions and available capacity within Uline’s existing network. Construction is not expected to resume until 2027 or later.

“I don’t think it’s any secret there’s unsettlement in the economy right now,” Folkert told the commission. He added that the company had extended leases at its Pleasant Prairie properties, reducing the immediate need for new space.

The commission granted Uline a 12-month extension of its conditional use permit for the planned facility, which spans more than 1 million square feet.

Uline is owned by Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein. Richard Uihlein donated nearly $80 million to a pro-Trump political action committee in 2024. The couple drew scrutiny that same year after surveying employees about their presidential voting preferences ahead of the November election. Elizabeth Uihlein called the survey voluntary, anonymous and “completely benign.”

In January 2026, a Uline employee publicly resigned in protest of the Uihleins’ political support for President Trump and Republican causes.

The construction halt comes in Wisconsin, a battleground state Trump carried in 2016 and 2024, but lost to President Biden in 2020.