Michigan Senate Republican leader Aric Nesbitt recently asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation into Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) concerning her potential role in a $20 million state fraud scheme. Earlier in May 2026, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a total of 16 charges against Fay Beydoun.
Beydoun is being accused of misusing $20 million in grant funding that was meant to be used to develop a business accelerator. Nesbitt, who is running for governor in the state, revealed that Beydoun was a close supporter and donor for Whitmer who is also alleged to have had a close personal relationship with Nessel. “Michigan deserves a governor who works for everyone in this state, not favored cronies who fund her lifestyle and campaigns,” Nesbitt stated.
“Let me be clear: if the governor is found complicit in this scheme to rob taxpayers, she must be held accountable under the law,” he added, going on to say, “We are going to follow the money, uncover the truth, and deliver justice for the taxpayers of this state.” Nesbitt encouraged acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to start a probe into Whitmer’s potential role in the scheme, saying that her connection with Nessel raises a number of concerns about potential conflict of interest.
“Under normal circumstances, state-level authorities should handle such matters,” Nesbitt went on to tell Blanche, according to Breitbart News. “However, Michigan faces a unique crisis of oversight. This relationship creates an inherent conflict of interest that calls into question whether the Michigan attorney general can impartially investigate the governor.”
In a press release published on his official site, Nesbitt said, “The era of the Lansing swamp insiders protecting their own at the expense of honest hard-working families is over,” Nesbitt said. “It doesn’t matter how powerful you are, who your friends are or what title is on your office door — if you steal from Michigan taxpayers, you must face the consequences. Period.”
Whitmer’s tenure as governor has been marred by a number of controversies, including harsh and totalitarian policies she put in place during the COVID pandemic. While slapping Michigan residents with strict stay-at-home orders, her husband attempted to flout her rules, one of which was not to take boats out on the water during Memorial Day weekend.
Marc Mallory, Whitmer’s husband, called a facility to see if he could put his boat in the water before the weekend, attempting to use his relationship to the governor to help persuade the owner of the facility to make an exception for him. It was a case of the rules being “good for thee, but not for me,” which did not sit well with residents.
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One user who commented on the Breitbart story wrote that Whitmer should have been ousted as governor for the policies she put in place during the pandemic. “She should have been booted out for her Covid shenanigans. Too much of Union ‘my Daddy always voted Democrat,’ generational ignorance in this State,” he went on to write.
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