Governor Gretchen Whitmer has claimed that she has paid off $28 billion in state debt, but state financial records show that the debt has actually increased under her tenure. The state's debt, which includes general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, and short-term debt, was $5.5 billion on Sept. 30, 2019, peaked at $7.3 billion in 2023 and sat at $6.6 billion at the end of the 2025 fiscal year.