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   Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is facing a new round of questions   
   about a much-criticized trip to Florida after revelations that the   
   air travel company she chartered for the flight wasn't actually   
   authorized to perform charter flights.   
      
   Whitmer has previously faced scrutiny over the March trip, which she   
   initially lied about taking, and which came after she had cautioned   
   Michigan residents against traveling out of state due to coronavirus   
   concerns.   
      
   MICHIGAN'S WHITMER PAID $27,521 FOR FLORIDA TRIP USING MIX OF DONOR   
   FUND, OWN CASH, AIDE SAYS   
      
   The Detroit Free Press raised new questions for Whitmer on Monday   
   when the outlet published a report revealing Air Eagle, LLP – the   
   air travel company that Whitmer chartered to visit her father in   
   Florida – was not authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration   
   (FAA) to give charter flights.   
      
   FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory told the Free Press that   
   companies that wish to perform charter flights need to have a Part   
   135 certificate from the agency – certification Air Eagle, LLP does   
   not have.   
      
   Cory confirmed in an email to the Free Press that the plane Whitmer   
   took "is not on a 135 certificate and Air Eagle does not have a Part   
   135 certificate."   
      
   The FAA spokesperson did not immediately tell the Free Press whether   
   Whitmer's flight would be classified as a charter flight.   
      
   Retired FAA Inspector Larry Williams told the paper that aircraft   
   owners are allowed to bus them and their friends around for free   
   under a Part 91 certificate but that any other passenger required   
   the Part 135 certification.   
      
   Williams also said the flight would be considered a charter and that   
   the revelation was "pretty serious" – carrying with it civil   
   penalties for the plane owners and the pilot – and that the FAA made   
   putting down unauthorized charter flights one of their priorities.   
      
   Charter flights require more rigorous training for pilots among   
   other stringent prerequisites to do their business, such as the Part   
   135 certificate. Other air travel companies have a Part 91   
   certificate, according to Cory.   
      
   MICHIGAN GOV. WHITMER LOOKING TO SHUT DOWN ENBRIDGE PIPELINE DURING   
   NATIONAL GAS SHORTAGE   
      
   Michigan Republican Party communications director Ted Goodman told   
   Fox News on Monday that the report was "concerning," but "not   
   surprising."   
      
   "This new bombshell that Whitmer's plane was not authorized to fly   
   is concerning, yet not surprising," Goodman said in a statement.   
   "For Whitmer, it's always been, rules for thee, but not for me."   
      
   In a Monday statement to Fox News, Republican Governors Association   
   spokesperson Chris Gustafson argued that the governor's "appalling   
   lack of transparency surrounding her secret unvaccinated vacation to   
   Florida is inexcusable."   
      
   "Too many questions remain unanswered, and these latest revelations   
   from the FAA only raise more concerns," Gustafson added.   
      
   DESANTIS CABINET MEMBER TROLLS MICHIGAN’S WHITMER OVER TRAVEL MESS   
   BY SENDING TOURISM PAMPHLETS   
      
   The Detroit News reported on Monday that Michigan House Oversight   
   Committee Chair Steve Johnson, a Republican, said the committee was   
   "definitely" considering a probe into Whitmer's trip if they don't   
   answer the question surrounding the trip.   
      
   "If they refuse to (answer the questions), maybe, at that point, we   
   will do hearings. It's definitely something in consideration,"   
   Johnson said. "I would like to give the administration the   
   opportunity to answer questions before we go down that road."   
      
   The governor paid over $27,000 for her flight through a combination   
   of payments from an inauguration-related nonprofit and by her own   
   out-of-pocket cash, according to her chief of staff JoAnne Huls.   
      
   Huls told senior staff in a memo that Whitmer continued to do her   
   job while in the Sunshine State and that the flight was not "a gift"   
   nor paid for by taxpayer funds.   
      
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   "She continued to carry out her duties as governor while she   
   assisted her father [in Florida] with household duties like cooking   
   and cleaning," wrote Huls. "The governor’s flight was not a gift,   
   not paid for at taxpayer expense, and was done in compliance with   
   the law,"   
      
   Air Eagle, LLP did not answer Fox News’ phone call for comment and   
   had a full voicemail. Whitmer’s office did not immediately respond   
   to Fox News’ request for comment.   
      
   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/michigan-gretchen-whitmer-florida-   
   trip-private-plane-faa   
      
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