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. 

The requests, six in all, were sent to the Michigan Budget Office, Michigan House Business Office, Michigan Senate Business Office, the office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the Office of the Adjutant General for the Texas Military, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. 

They seek any records, including correspondence and receipts, related to the trip taken in April by House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richmond Twp.) and Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) to Eagle Pass, Texas, along the border with Mexico where they said they were joined by officials from other states, met with Texas officials and “witnessed illegal aliens attempting to cross the border away from ports of entry.” 

A press release sent at the time included photos of Hall and Nesbitt interacting with border patrol officials and no other people visible. A Hall spokesman also sent the Advance a five-second aerial video allegedly showing an illegal border crossing.

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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, who pointed out that Michigan already sent National Guard troops to assist at the southern border, both at the request of bpth former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. 

“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.

The FOIA to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission notes that according to a picture posted to Twitter, both Hall and Nesbitt met with commission officials who had been deployed to the border.

Requests for comment on the FOIA submissions were sent to the offices of both Hall and Nesbitt, but have yet to be returned.

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. He also said the rhetoric surrounding use of Guard troops at the border continues to animate GOP politics in the state.

“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.”