State Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, made the following statement Tuesday after recent reporting from the Detroit News uncovered Gov. Gretchen Whitmer solicited over $900,000 in secret payments from nonprofits to fund her population council. These additional payments follow $2 million in taxpayer funding the governor strong-armed through the Legislature.

“The governor hides millions of dollars in payments made by secret nonprofits from the public with the same ease that a teenager hides a messy room or an unloaded dishwasher from their parents,” Roth said. “This abuse of the public trust is another example of negligence from a governor who has shown no willingness to operate in the public eye. Republicans had concerns about the council’s report before, and this lack of transparency is the final nail in the coffin.”

Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council released a report in December outlining policy proposals, including suggested tax hikes, to curb population declines. The report included calls for Michigan to work closely with nonprofit organizations while failing to mention the nearly $1 million in hidden nonprofit payments used to fund the population council.

“Usually, when elected officials want to start or expand a new project or program, we have to save money; the governor takes the opposite approach,” Roth said. “She blew through nearly $3 million on a council she created with the sole goal of justifying tax hikes and even more increased spending for Democrat pet projects.”

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