Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has traveled outside the state to visit her father, who has a chronic illness, for the past six months and at least a month ago, a spokeswoman for MIRS News said Monday. headquartered in Lansing.
The news comes after Whitmer warned not to travel to Florida for spring break, amid an increase in coronavirus cases in the state. Several Michigan health officials reportedly traveled out of state for the spring break, despite Whitmer’s recommendation to stay in Michigan.
“Whitmer’s father has been completely vaccinated, and the governor is tested regularly and has never tested positive for COVID,” spokeswoman Tiffany Brown told MIRS. The governor traveled to see “her elderly father struggling with a chronic illness ”and did not arrive on spring break, Brown said. Brown did not say in which state Whitmer traveled; however, a source told MIRS that the governor’s father has a home in Florida.
Whitmer also traveled from Michigan to attend President Biden’s inauguration and to visit Michigan National Guard troops stationed in Washington, DC, after President Trump’s supporters revolted at the Capitol in January.
“All the trips were very short, two whole days or less, closely following the public health guidelines and were made when Michigan’s daily positivity rate was in low numbers, ”Brown noted. “Due to ongoing security concerns, we will not comment on the governor’s personal program.”
Ted Goodman, communications director for the Michigan Republican Party, criticized Whitmer’s decision to travel.
““Governor Whitmer and the Democratic Party have shut down Michigan’s economy, shut down schools, and continue to warn us about travel during this pandemic, yet it refuses to follow the same set of rules,” Goodman said in a written statement.Governor Whitmer’s COVID-19 response can be summarized as “rules for you, but not for me.”