Whitmer failed to cut her salary as promised

She had promised to return 10% of her salary to Michigan taxpayers

Back in April 2020, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promised to return 10% of her annual salary of $159,300 to the state treasury to stand with those who lost income during the shutdowns she implemented at the start of the pandemic.

However, rather than pay the entire $15,930 per year she pledged, Whitmer returned only $4,917—just three months of payments sent back to taxpayers.

“I’m going to lead by example,” Whitmer originally said on April 20, 2020. “I know that times are tough and that we as a state are going to be confronting a tough budget as a result of the economic shutdown.”

At the time Whitmer pledged to return a portion of her pay, she also publicly encouraged members of her senior leadership team to return 5% of their pay.

“Despite pledging to ‘lead by example,’ Whitmer’s other sacrifices included not getting her boat in the water, fallout from her trip to Florida, and getting caught at the Landshark (bar),” said Eric Ventimiglia, executive director of Michigan Rising Action.