LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan's top elected official, spent about one in every four days outside the state's borders over the first nine months of the year, according to data released by her office and an analysis by The Detroit News.

Multiple former state leaders said the rate of trips totaling at least eight weeks appeared to exceed past governors' out-of-state travel.

Whitmer's critics contended the numbers pointed to misplaced priorities for the second-term Democrat, while her supporters said they were a result of her ballooning role in national politics during a presidential election year.

This year, Whitmer was co-chairwoman for Vice President Kamala Harris' unsuccessful campaign for president and authored a book that spurred a national tour with stops in Martha's Vineyard, Seattle and San Francisco. Some Democrats view Whitmer, a 53-year-old former state lawmaker, as a potential future candidate for president.

"The mere fact of eligibility enhances your profile and, consequently, demand for your presence," said John Cherry Jr., a Democrat who served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Granholm was born in Canada and couldn't seek the presidency.

Dick Posthumus, who was lieutenant governor under Republican former Gov. John Engler, said he couldn't recall any governor from either party being out of state 25% of the time in one year.

"But maybe there is good reason," Posthumus added of Whitmer's travels.

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, The News obtained a list of payments made this year from the state Treasury to current Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, who receives a bump in compensation each quarter for the days he spends as Michigan's acting governor when Whitmer is out of the state.

As lieutenant governor, Gilchrist makes $111,510 a year, before taxes and other deductions. As governor, Whitmer makes about $159,300 annually.

For the period from January through September 2024, Gilchrist received $6,211 in extra pay above his base level, according to Treasury's data. The numbers, released by Treasury, didn't show what deduction rates applied to any of Gilchrist's compensation or specifically how many days he was paid to serve as acting governor. An analysis by The News indicated that he could have been paid for as many as 78 days — 29% of the first nine months — if the rate of his deductions held steady for the extra pay.

But Bobby Leddy, spokesman for Whitmer, said Gilchrist was paid as acting governor for 58 days — 21% of the first nine months. Leddy wouldn't disclose specifically how many days Whitmer has spent outside Michigan in 2024 so far, and it's unclear if Gilchrist was paid extra each day Whitmer left the state.

As governor, Whitmer can still communicate with her staff and conduct state business when she's not physically in Michigan. But the state constitution prohibits the governor from signing laws when she's absent from the state.

Ron Leix, spokesman for Treasury, said his agency had no information about why Gilchrist was paid the amounts he was and simply processes the payments.

There were periods when both Whitmer and Gilchrist were not in Michigan. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson served as acting governor for an additional three days this year, her spokeswoman Cheri Hardmon said. And on July 25, Attorney General Dana Nessel briefly served as acting governor, signing a bill into law.

Whitmer, Gilchrist, Benson and Nessel also attended the Democratic National Convention in August, meaning they were all out of the state for additional days.

Those periods, potentially eight more days, along with the 58 disclosed by the governor's office would equal 24% of the first nine months of the year.

'Very common practice'

In a statement, Leddy said it's standard for a governor’s duties to require work out of state, "whether that’s to meet with federal officials and the president of the United States or lead overseas missions to bring jobs back home."

“During election cycles, it’s a very common practice for governors of both parties to support their candidates on the road," Leddy said. "As co-chair of the Harris campaign, Gov. Whitmer was proud to play a prominent role on behalf of the president and vice president."

Leddy released the statement to The News a day after the governor's office announced Whitmer had departed on a three-day trade mission to Spain. Whitmer went on a similar trade mission to Taiwan and South Korea in March.

The 58 days that Gilchrist was paid to serve as governor over the first nine months of 2024 appeared to be higher than at least some of the past years of Whitmer's own time in the office. In 2019, Gilchrist was paid as acting governor for 43 days, and in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was paid for just eight days, the Lansing-based political newsletter Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS News) reported in 2021.

Under current state law, the Michigan governor's office is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which requires most government agencies in the state to fulfill requests for documents from the public.

If such a policy were in place, the public could likely determine when Whitmer leaves Michigan through officials' calendars or any internal documents detailing the reasons for Gilchrist's pay being hiked. Bills to remove the FOIA exemption for the governor's office passed the state Senate in June and are currently pending in the state House.

Calendars that Whitmer's office voluntarily makes available do not reflect all of her out-of-state travel.

For example, Whitmer spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22. Her office calendar for that date said she participated in "check-ins with team" and "staff calls."

Whitmer appeared on the "Late Show With Stephen Colbert" on July 10 in New York to promote her book, "TRUE GRETCH: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between."

Her office calendar for that day also said only "check-ins with team" and "staff calls."

Impact on the Legislature

Under the Michigan Constitution, the lieutenant governor holds the powers of the governor when the governor is "absent" from the state.

If they're both absent, the powers go to the secretary of state and then the attorney general.

In an interview Tuesday, Michigan House Minority Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, who will become the House speaker next term, said he hears "all of the time" from Democrats in the Legislature complaining about Whitmer not being physically present in Lansing enough.

Hall didn't specify which Democrats had told him that in the past.

However, Hall argued that Whitmer's national ambitions had influenced Democrats in the state, including House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to care more about national issues than state matters, like improving roads and funding schools.

"Tate let her walk them down that plank," Hall said.

A spokeswoman for Tate didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Asked how many days Hall was outside Michigan in 2024, Hall said it was a "very small number."

This year is a potentially significant one for Democrats in Michigan because, in 2022, they won majorities in both the House and Senate for the first time in 40 years. In the Nov. 5 election, Republicans won back control in the House, meaning Democrats' two-year hold on power in Lansing will conclude at the end of December.

Cherry, who was lieutenant governor from 2003 through 2010, said Whitmer has been around for the big policy moments in Lansing and has a legislative team always working in the Capitol.

"I just can't image the governor's travel can stand in the way of legislative progress," Cherry said.

However, with a laugh, Cherry acknowledged he didn't recall being "in demand" as much as Gilchrist has been as acting governor in 2024.

______

( Detroit News staff writer Beth LeBlanc contributed to this story.)

______

©2024 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.