Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback made a secretive trip to Israel this summer and met with the prime minister there.
Gov. Brownback flew to Israel with his wife and one of his daughters at the end of August and had a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is only coming out now because of an investigative piece in the Hutchinson News.
"This is one of the stranger stories involving a Kansas governor I’ve seen," says Washburn political science professor Bob Beatty.
Beatty says the governor’s office seemed to mask the visit by sending out a steady stream of press releases in his absence, never hinting he was away.
The Kansas Department of Commerce says it was a business trip to strengthen trade. It was arranged by Overland Park businesswoman Margie Robinow, who established a company to handle the logistics two weeks after getting the state contract and went on the trip with Brownback.
President Trump has nominated Brownback to be Ambassador for International Religious Freedom.
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