Whitmer and 15 Others Spent $178,156 on Seven-Day Europe Trip as Budget Deadline Loomed

LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer led a delegation of 15 officials and business representatives on a seven-day trip to France, Luxembourg, and Belgium in June 2026, spending a total of $178,156, according to documents obtained through a public records request by Michigan Capitol Confidential.

The group arrived in Paris on Sunday, June 14, and immediately began a schedule that mixed high-level defense industry meetings with cultural outings. On the first day, the delegation ate lunch at Le Paul Bert Cafe and spent time at the Saint Ouen Flea Market before checking into the Sofitel Paris Arc de Triomphe, one of the city's most upscale hotels. The bulk of the trip centered on Eurosatory, the world's largest defense and security conference, where Whitmer's office said she was the only sitting American governor in attendance.

The spending breakdown, as reported by Michigan Capitol Confidential, included $93,750 on accommodations, $40,058 on airfare, $17,899 on meals, $12,846 on transportation, an additional $12,823 (11,248 euros) on in-country transportation, $3,367 on a cultural tour, $1,800 on airport fees and services, and $686 on renting a meeting room. About $5,095 (4,469 euros) was refunded for accommodations.

The delegation included Whitmer's Chief of Staff JoAnne Huls, Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin Messer Jr., MEDC Investment Director of Europe Vlatko Tomic-Bobas, Col. John T. Gutierrez (ret.), executive director of the Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation, and Whitmer's Deputy Chief of Staff Terry Krinvic. Also on the trip were healthcare executives Marc Corriveau of Henry Ford Health System, Laura Appel of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, and Phil Yeiter of Priority Health/Corewell Health, along with several other aides and executive staff.

During the trip, the group visited the showroom of tech company Forvia, toured Valeo's research and development center, and made what the governor's office described as a historic first visit by any U.S. state to NATO's Support and Procurement Agency in Luxembourg. Whitmer also met with executives from Saab, American Rheinmetall, and RENK Group — companies that her office said have collectively committed more than $275 million in capital expenditures and research and development spending in Michigan, along with 820 jobs.

The trip was funded by the MEDC and the Michigan Economic Development Foundation, a private nonprofit organization that raises money from businesses to support the governor's international travel. Danielle Emerson, the MEDC's public relations manager, told Michigan Capitol Confidential that investment missions are not funded with taxpayer dollars.

"Michigan's defense and aerospace industry is a $30 billion-plus industry full of companies of all sizes who call Michigan home," Emerson wrote. "It is the responsibility of the governor of Michigan to tout such assets and capabilities when and where it is relevant." She added that Michigan became the first state to visit the NATO Supply and Procurement Agency in Luxembourg, with the goal of expanding procurement opportunities for Michigan companies that may not have the means to pursue them independently.

Twelve Michigan-based companies also exhibited at the Eurosatory conference through the state's international trade program in partnership with Automation Alley, according to the governor's office.

The trip drew sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers, who argued the timing was inappropriate. The delegation departed just weeks before the July 1 state budget deadline, with education funding negotiations still unresolved in the divided legislature.

State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, who chairs a House budget committee responsible for education funding, said budget talks had stalled in the governor's absence. "Productive budget negotiations are on hold because the governor wanted to go vacation in Europe," Markkanen said. "Our schools are waiting on us to get the budget done; we don't have time for state-funded croissant tastings or TikTok videos in front of the Eiffel Tower."

State Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw Township, who also chairs an education budget committee, echoed the concern. "The House did its part," Kelly said. "We're ready to finish the job, but we can't do it alone. We need Gov. Whitmer to get back to Lansing, so we can give schools clarity."

State Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, called the trip "globe-trotting across Europe at the worst possible time," saying the governor was "AWOL yet again" with 15 days remaining before the budget deadline. The conservative Michigan Forward Network also weighed in, with spokesman Gabe Butzke saying, "Our students are struggling to read, our income growth is in the toilet, and our unemployment rate is one of the worst in the country, but the governor would rather be in Paris."

The June trip was the third European excursion of 2026 for Whitmer. In January, she spent $61,000 on a six-day trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. In February, a trade mission to Germany and Italy cost approximately $208,000, a trip that also included a visit to the Winter Olympics gold medal hockey game in Milan — an appearance that was not listed on the official agenda. The Detroit News reported that the governor's team has not clarified how she obtained a ticket to the game or who paid for it.

The pattern of international travel extends further back. In 2025, Whitmer spent approximately $1 million on foreign travel, according to records obtained by Michigan Capitol Confidential and cited during a Michigan House Oversight Committee hearing. That figure included $219,622 for a trip to Australia, $204,000 for the United Kingdom, $470,000 for Germany, Japan, and Singapore, $175,000 for the United Arab Emirates, and $73,000 for Canada. During the House Oversight hearing, officials from the economic development agency were unable to answer questions about specific expenditures, including $25,000 spent on meals during the Japan trip alone.

Whitmer leaves office at the end of 2026 and is widely expected to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.

The Question: Should a governor in her final year in office be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on international trade missions while state budget negotiations stall at home, or do the investment commitments and jobs secured justify the cost and the absence?