Through September, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent a quarter of her time in office on trips to other places, both national and international, prompting criticism she’s prioritizing her political ambitions over her constituents.

An analysis of bonus payments to Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II for serving as governor when Whitmer’s away suggests he could have been paid for 78 days, or 29% of the first nine months of 2024, though Whitmer spokesman Bobby Leddy claims it was 58 days, or 21%, The Detroit News reports.

“During election cycles, it’s a very common practice for governors of both parties to support their candidates on the road,” Leddy told the news site. “As co-chair of the [Vice President Kamala] Harris campaign, Gov. Whitmer was proud to play a prominent role on behalf of the president and vice president.”

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The campaigning, however, is only one of many priorities that have repeatedly drawn Whitmer away from Michigan in 2024.

In addition to numerous campaign stops on behalf of President Joe Biden and Harris in Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Hampshire, and elsewhere, Whitmer has racked up plenty of frequent flyer miles promoting her book, accepting social media awards, and international travel for state “investment missions.”

While promoting her book True Gretch, Whitmer trekked to Seattle, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Washington DC, Little Rock, and made trips to appear on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America, The View, CNN and other programs.

In March, Whitmer headed to sunny San Diego amid a winter storm that knocked out power to an estimated 650,000 Michiganders, though the reason why was unclear.

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In May, it was a trip to the 28^th Annual Webby Awards in New York City, where she celebrated the “success” of her “Governor Barbie” online campaign in 2023, which feature a Whitmer lookalike cruising the state in a vintage pink Corvette to tout the governor’s policies on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Facebook.

There were also overseas trips last spring to South Korea and Taiwan, which followed other trips the year prior to Norway, Japan, Switzerland, Paris and Germany. On Monday, Whitmer set off for Spain on a three-day taxpayer funded trip to “expand Michigan’s global footprint and attract new economic opportunities to our state.”

The international travel comes with additional costs to taxpayers beyond travel expenses for the governor and her entourage, with the Japan trip leading to a $1.4 million subsidy for Japanese parts manufacturer Denso to retool existing production lines at its Battle Creek facility for electric vehicles that created zero jobs.

Michigan House Republican Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, told The News Whitmer’s frequent travel has produced both complaints from Democrats frustrated with her absence, as well as a focus from legislative leaders on national issues at the expense of fundamental state matters, such as improving roads and funding schools.

Democratic House Speaker Joe “Tate let her walk them down that plank,” he said.

Former Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus, who served with Republican Gov. John Engler, told the news site he’s not aware of any governor spending a quarter of their time outside of Michigan.

“But maybe there is a good reason,” he said.

Plenty of other folks have sounded off on Whitmer’s travels online.

“You’re taking a vacation under the guise of bringing new business,” one X user posted in response to Whitmer’s trip to Spain this week. “Why didn’t you just invite them here to SEE economic opportunities themselves?”

“How much did this cost the taxpayers?” read another.

Detroit News reporter Craig Mauger noted on X “if it weren’t for a pay bump the LG gets when the governor leaves the state, it would be nearly impossible to determine how often Michigan’s governor leaves the state.

“That’s because (Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act) doesn’t apply to the governor’s office.”

Whitmer campaigned for governor on a promise to change that, but has yet to follow through.

Current law exempts Whitmer’s office from disclosing anything, and her official calendar often omits any reference to when she’s left the state. When Whitmer spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, for example, her office calendar simply stated she participated in “check-ins with team” and “staff calls,” The News reports.

It was the same deal in July when the governor appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Legislation to make good on Whitmer’s promise to increase transparency for the governor’s office and remove the FOIA exemption cleared the Michigan Senate in June with a vote of 36-2, and it’s been pending in the House Committee on Government Operations ever since.

Whether House Democrats take up Senate Bill 670 during the current lame duck session remains to be seen. If approved, it would still need Whitmer’s signature to become law.

“I cannot underscore enough how important this legislation is to change the institutions in Lansing and build trust between us and the constituents we serve,” said state Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, who sponsored the legislation with state Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan.