{"id":12944,"date":"2026-02-19T13:51:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T13:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/12944\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T13:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T13:51:07","slug":"whitmer-spent-61k-on-switzerland-trip-michigan-capitol-confidential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/12944\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitmer spent $61k on Switzerland trip \u2013 Michigan Capitol Confidential"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\tNews Story<\/a><\/p>\n


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\n\t\t\t\tWhitmer has jetted to Switzerland, Germany and Italy in first two months of 2026 \n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Gov. Whitmer’s social media<\/p>\n

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent $61,000 on a six-day trip to Davos, Switzerland, in January, according to documents obtained through a records request.<\/p>\n

Michigan Capitol Confidential received the trip records and guest list for the trip, which took place Jan. 18-24, from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.<\/p>\n

The MEDC sent 10 people to attend the World Economic Forum. Among them were Whitmer and a top aide, Zachary Pohl. Three members of the MEDC also went on the trip, including CEO Quentin Messer Jr., investment director of Europe Vlatko Tomic-Bobas, and chief of protocol Katelyn Wilcox.<\/p>\n

The 10 people who took the 8,000-mile round trip spent $32,236 on airfare, $15,201 on transportation, $10,706 on hotel rooms, $1,992 on miscellaneous expenses, and $942 on meals. Five names are redacted because those people serve as executive protection for Whitmer.<\/p>\n

Whitmer Davos trip 2026 CapCon<\/a> by mcclallen<\/a> <\/p>\n

The governor said that the trip would secure jobs for Michigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichigan is open for business, and we\u2019re continuing to compete and win on the global stage,\u201d Whitmer said in a Jan. 19 statement. \u201cI\u2019m excited to tell Michigan\u2019s story this week and build relationships directly with global leaders at the World Economic Forum. On issues like innovation, workforce talent, and manufacturing, we are building a bright future and making a difference for Michiganders. We\u2019re creating opportunity and helping workers get the skills they need for good-paying jobs. We\u2019re building vibrant communities with bustling main streets and downtowns. I\u2019ll keep working with anyone to grow our economy, strengthen our defense and manufacturing industries, and help more families \u2018make it\u2019 in Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ref_025_-_McClallen_-_Reponsive_Docs_-_2.10.26<\/a> by mcclallen<\/a> <\/p>\n

Whitmer spoke on two panels at the Davos event: \u201cA Conversation with U.S. Governors\u201d and \u201cCan [Electric Vehicles] Really Dominate?\u201d<\/p>\n

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued major oil companies in January, claiming<\/a> that oil companies acted as a cartel to suppress the success of EVs and renewable energy in Michigan.<\/p>\n

The economic development agency says that Whitmer\u2019s expenses were covered by the Michigan Economic Development Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing economic development initiatives that drive private investment, job creation, and wage growth in Michigan, Danielle Emerson, the public relations manager at the MEDC told CapCon in an email.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwitzerland is home to a strong concentration of global companies in advanced manufacturing, defense technologies, and life sciences \u2013 industries that align closely with Michigan\u2019s strategic economic priorities,\u201d Emerson wrote. \u201cSwitzerland is Michigan\u2019s ninth-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) and since 2019, nine Swiss companies have launched ten FDI projects in the state, including Forming, Gerber Products, and Kuehne + Nagel, totaling $18.71 million in capital investment and creating 255 jobs. Further, it was announced that Oerlikon \u2014 whom the governor visited in Switzerland \u2014 will expand its Michigan operations<\/a> to meet increased customer demand. This company alone employs nearly 300 people across multiple Michigan locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, Whitmer spent about $44,000<\/a> on a similar trip.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Whitmer spent $1 million<\/a> on foreign travel, CapCon reported. The governor leaves office after this year and is widely expected to run for president in 2028.<\/p>\n

Those expenses in 2025 include:<\/p>\n

Australia, $219,622<\/a> in June 2025<\/p>\n

United Kingdom, $204,000<\/a> in April 2025<\/p>\n

Germany, Japan<\/a>, Singapore, $470,000 in September 2025<\/p>\n

United Arab Emirates: $175,000 in February 2025<\/p>\n

Canada: $73,732 in October 2025<\/p>\n

In the first two months of 2026, Whitmer has traveled to Switzerland, Germany and now Italy. CapCon will keep tracking Whitmer\u2019s travel expenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News Story Whitmer has jetted to Switzerland, Germany and Italy in first two months of 2026 …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[9445,9444,9443,17,9446],"class_list":{"0":"post-12944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-foia","9":"tag-medc","10":"tag-michigan","11":"tag-switzerland","12":"tag-wef"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}