Chair Barnes calls for MAGA Matt Hall to prove he didn’t waste taxpayer money on his most recent political stunt visit to the southern border
LANSING — In case you missed it, yesterday, the Michigan Advance highlighted the Michigan Democratic Party’s efforts to find out exactly how MAGA Matt Hall and Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt paid for their trip to the southern border last month in order to get clarity on whether they used taxpayer dollars on this performative trip.
As Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes said, “These demands – and this trip – appear to be part of a bad-faith political stunt.” If this politically motivated trip to fearmonger and spread misinformation was paid for out of Michiganders’ pockets, Hall and Nesbitt will have a lot of questions to answer.
As recently as Wednesday, when he stood with Trump at his sham visit to Michigan, MAGA Matt Hall’s hypocrisy was on full display as he continued to talk about sending the brave men and women of the Michigan National Guard to the border — despite previously voting against funding for them and their families.
Let’s be clear, Michiganders deserve to know how MAGA Matt prioritizes the use of taxpayer dollars – it’s well past time that he proves that he didn’t waste any public funds for his excursion this past April.
Read more about Hall and Nesbitt’s lack of transparency below:
Michigan Advance: Michigan Democratic Party seeks records related to border trip by GOP leaders
- The Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) on Thursday filed a flurry of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking details on how a recent trip to the U.S. southern border by state Republican leaders was paid for…
- Signed by MDP Chair Lavora Barnes, the FOIA requests note that both Republican legislators called for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to send National Guard troops to the southern border. “These demands – and this trip – appear to be part of a bad-faith political stunt,” stated Barnes…
- “Moreover, last year, both Leader Hall and Leader Nesbitt voted against $94 million in funding for Michigan’s National Guard and military operations,” said Barnes, referencing their votes against the $82 billion Fiscal Year 2024 budget that included National Guard funding.
- “Given Hall’s and Nesbitt’s apparent hypocrisy, the people of the State of Michigan deserve to know what political calculations went into planning this trip – and whether State public funds paid for these officials’ travels,” wrote Barnes.
- Tommy Kubitschek, spokesperson for the Michigan Democratic Party, told the Michigan Advance called it an “indictment of their ability to lead” in Michigan if Hall and Nesbitt used taxpayer dollars for their trip.
- “We can’t forget that Matt Hall has already turned his back on the brave members of the Michigan National Guard when he and most of his caucus voted against funding for them, but is now calling on them to go down to the border,” he said. “He was just out at the rally in Freeland [at Wednesday’s Trump rally] ranting and raving about the same thing. Michiganders have a right to know if he is using taxpayer dollars for such a political stunt and we must find out.”
###
