Indiana Officials Reported $132,572 in Travel, Led by Braun, With White House and Overseas Trips in the Mix

Indiana Officials Reported $132,572 in Travel, Led by Braun, With White House and Overseas Trips in the Mix

$132,572 across 16 reports in one fiscal year

Indiana's governor, statewide elected officials and top Braun administration appointees reported a combined $132,572 in travel-related expenses across 16 annual reports covering the fiscal year from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, according to a review by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Gov. Mike Braun topped the list at $28,014, followed by Secretary of State Diego Morales at $26,563 and Energy and Natural Resources Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski at $25,046.

Braun stayed mostly home, and itemized by day

Most of Braun's travel kept him inside Indiana. Unlike colleagues who bundled costs, his report assigned expenses to individual travel days. Attorney General Todd Rokita, by contrast, listed no state expenses for most of his in-state travel.

A White House Christmas party, Israel, South Korea and Zurich

The longest journeys belonged to others. Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith reported $16,355 after reimbursements, with about $13,500 tied to in-state travel; three trips to Washington and one to Sarasota, Florida, accounted for about $2,900 after reimbursements, including $1,237.76 in airfare and hotel for a December 2025 visit to the White House Christmas reception. Treasurer Daniel Elliott reported $6,987.11, including about $5,000 in monthly gas card charges for Indiana travel and about $1,900 out of state across Orlando, Washington, Denver, Salt Lake City and Israel. His seven-day Israel visit ran Dec. 6-12, 2025, with stops in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as part of a delegation with the National Association of State Treasurers and the America-Israel Friendship League; his report lists $458.59 for the visit without establishing the trip's full cost. Education Secretary Katie Jenner traveled to Washington, Santa Barbara, Denver, New Orleans and Zurich, where she joined an April exchange on the Swiss apprenticeship model; her report lists $70 in state expenses for Zurich, noting outside organizations covered some or all costs without saying how much.

Jaworowski's Korea trip was the priciest single outing

Jaworowski accounted for about 62% of the $40,460 reported by the seven cabinet secretaries. Her largest expense was $8,283.97 for an April 20-May 1 visit to Seoul and Busan for a nuclear energy conference and economic development meetings with South Korean officials. She also listed $2,167.41 for a May visit to New York to meet a South Korean construction company, which the report does not name, plus Washington meetings with federal energy and Pentagon officials. Morales listed five out-of-state trips totaling about $8,000, including National Association of Secretaries of State conferences in Washington and Biloxi, Mississippi, and another Washington visit for meetings with federal and state representatives.

The books don't all read the same way

Reporting methods varied widely. Braun itemized by day, while Morales and Elliott grouped fleet or fuel charges into monthly totals instead of assigning them to individual trips; Morales's monthly fleet charges totaled $18,329.49, about 69% of his reported expenses, and Rokita claimed nothing for most in-state travel. Adjutant General Lawrence Muennich listed $869.19 in monthly fuel charges and Indianapolis travel described as daily vehicle usage. The inconsistency makes apples-to-apples comparisons difficult.

What taxpayers can see, and what they can't

The dollar total is modest spread across 16 officials, but the reports raise the familiar question of what counts as official business: a White House reception, an Israel delegation, a nuclear conference in Korea, a Swiss apprenticeship exchange. Some trips were partly paid by outside organizations, with no disclosure of how much they covered. For taxpayers footing the state-paid share, half a ledger is not accountability.

Disclosure logs spending, not results

The annual reports record what the state paid, not what the trips achieved: whether the Korean construction talks led anywhere, or what Indiana took home from the Swiss apprenticeship model, remains unaddressed. As the new fiscal year unfolds, the thing to watch is whether the next round of reports itemizes more clearly and discloses the outside money alongside the public money.