LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer is traveling overseas again, this time for a week-long trip to Europe that her office described as an “investment mission.”
Whitmer said she and her team will attend Eurosatory, a conference focused on defense and security. Whitmer is traveling with a team of Michigan officials, including Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin Messer Jr. He’s been identified as a potential target in Attorney General Dana Nessel’s investigation and indictment of Democratic donor and Whitmer friend Fay Beydoun. She faces 16 charges related to the alleged way she spent $20 million from a taxpayer grant on her now-defunct nonprofit.
The travel schedule for the term-limited governor has been full. In 2025, she took five international trips that cost taxpayers roughly $1 million. That year, Whitmer spent $175,000 on travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February. In April and June, she traveled to the United Kingdom and Australia at costs of $204,000 and $219,622, respectively. In September 2025, lawmakers still had not secured a budget deal with the governor as a budget deadline loomed. She then traveled to Germany, Japan, and Singapore, spending $470,000. In October, she traveled to Canada at a cost of $73,000.
While Whitmer touted the participation of 12 businesses on this recent trip and the potential creation of jobs, Michigan ranks 32nd in the nation for economic outlook. An April 2026 report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) gave Michigan that ranking based on a variety of factors, including how taxes affect Michiganders compared with residents of other states.
Michigan News Source reached out to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget for details about Whitmer’s travel iteniary and expenses, but did not receive a response by press time.
