Whitmer's Trip To Florida To Be Paid For By Campaign: Report

MICHIGAN — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's campaign will pay for her much-maligned March trip to Florida to visit her chronically ill father after the company that owns the plane used in the trip said it could not accept payment from the social welfare nonprofit originally slated to pay for it.

Whitmer will reimburse the campaign committee the cost of airline tickets for herself and her two daughters, legal counsel for the Whitmer for Governor candidate committee told The Detroit News.

"Based on this new understanding, the cost of the flight will now be paid from the Whitmer for Governor campaign fund consistent with FAA rules," Christopher Trebilcock, an attorney for the Whitmer for Governor candidate committee and Michigan Transition 2019 told The Detroit News.

In addition to how the trip will be paid for, a bevy of other details about the trip was released Thursday. Those new details include that Whitmer flew to Florida with her Michigan State Police security detail, according to The Detroit Free Press.

The campaign also will pay for a private plane Whitmer used to travel to the inauguration of President Joe Biden in January, the Free Press reported.

The flight to Florida originally was set to be paid for by the nonprofit organization Michigan Transition 2019. The group paid more than $27,000 for the flight, with Whitmer originally paying a little less than $1,000 for her own seat, according to public donor reports.

But the company that flew Whitmer to Florida could not accept payment, citing Federal Aviation Association rules regarding taking payments from nonprofits with social welfare status.

Thursday news regarding the funding of Whitmer's flight to Florida and reported by The Detroit News came in part out of responses to a series of questions sent Whitmer's way by Rep. Steve Johnson (R-Wayland). Johnson sent Whitmer's office 43 questions about the flight last week after a complaint was filed with the IRS by Michigan Rising Action, a conservative group that submitted the trip fell outside the purpose of the account.

Whitmer has been heavily criticized for her Florida trip, with the visit being the focus of a new GOP campaign ad ahead of the 2022 Gubernatorial election.

Read more on Patch:

• Whitmer Criticized For Traveling Out Of State During Pandemic
• Whitmer's Trip To Florida Was Funded Primarily By Nonprofit: Memo
  
• Whitmer's Florida Trip Subject Of IRS Complaint Filed Wednesday
  
• GOP Lawmaker Wants Answers On Whitmer's Florida Trip
  
• Whitmer's Florida Trip, COVID Rules Focus Of GOP TV Ad Campaign