The chair of the state House Oversight Committee says he will send a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer this week.
Representative Steve Johnson (R-Wayland) says he has questions about the governor’s trip to Florida to visit her ailing father, and how the trip was paid for.
“Did her security detail travel with her or not – what was the cost to taxpayers of that? Just a number of questions that we’d like answers to. That is our first step, and depending on the administration's answers or refusal to answer, the oversight committee will consider hearings after that.”The trip was paid for by a not-for-profit fund controlled by the governor, and not taxpayer money.
"Is the governor wanting to come clean and be transparent? When she ran for office the first time, she made transparency a large part of her campaign platform," said Johnson. "We would hope that she would honor that promise. She knows that this is clearly an issue people are talking about and they’re asking questions.”
Johnson says a decision on whether to hold committee hearings will depend on the response to his letter.
But it appears the governor herself only paid the cost of her seat.
The private jet is shared by a group of wealthy Michigan business leaders.
