It Only Costs $25,000 for Face-Time with Gretchen Whitmer

Lansing, MI – A new report revealed that the Michigan Economic Development Foundation (MEDF) has been underwriting foreign excursions for Governor Gretchen Whitmer, raising more questions about ethics and transparency when it comes to the governor’s economic development efforts.

According to the reporting from The Detroit News, businesses that donate to the MEDF are rewarded with board seats and direct access to the governor and her senior staff. At the same time, Quentin Messer, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), continues to maintain that the MEDF and the MEDC operate with “complete separation.” However, this report shows that companies that have donated to the MEDF have received billions of dollars in funding from the MEDC.

While Messer says that there is no overlap between the MEDF and the MEDC, the MEDF has used hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donations to fund overseas trips for Whitmer and her allies, including Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II and Messer. These donations quickly turn into opportunities for face time with the governor, including a reception at Whitmer’s Lansing mansion. 

The whole system appears to function like a pay-to-play machine. Businesses fund Whitmer’s international getaways through the MEDF, and then the MEDC turns around and awards millions in corporate welfare to those same companies. 

Messer and Whitmer are already involved in what looks like another MEDC pay-to-play scheme. In 2021, a $20 million grant was awarded to Fay Beydoun, a longtime Whitmer ally and donor. The MEDC administered the grant, and the funds were used for extravagances such as a $4,500 coffee maker and a first-class flight to Budapest. Whitmer’s chief of staff has retained a criminal defense attorney, and Messer is now the target of an attorney general investigation into the grant.

“When access and influence are bought and sold, it's the taxpayers who lose,” said Gabe Butzke, a spokesperson for the Michigan Forward Network. “Gretchen Whitmer and Quentin Messer don’t seem capable of playing fair, and they don’t hide their favoritism for specific corporations. Whether it’s giving millions in grants to allies or selling access to administration officials, they’re determined to pick winners and losers at the taxpayer’s expense.”