Florida governor Ron DeSantis speaks alongside his wife Casey DeSantis during the "Faith and Family with the Feenstras" event in Sioux Center, Iowa, December 9, 2023.(Christopher Reistroffer/Reuters)
There is a growing firestorm in Florida over how $10 million that was given to a non-profit headed by the wife of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ended up being used to defeat a ballot initiative he opposed.
According to a report from Politico's Arek Sarkissian and Gary Fineout, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, who reportedly has political aspirations of her own, received the $10 million in dispute and then flipped it within days from her Hope Florida non-profit to two groups who backed her husband's attempt to derail a pot amendment.
That has Florida lawmakers, who have been increasingly combative with the governor who is termed out, seeking answers.
Politico is reporting, "Last week, Florida’s House Health Care Budget Subcommittee spent more than an hour asking the state Agency for Health Care Administration about $10 million that was donated to Hope Florida as part of a settlement agreement with the state’s largest Medicaid operator. The AHCA settlement was included in the minutes of an Oct. 14 board meeting of the Hope Florida Foundation," adding, " The scrutiny of Hope Florida by the state House prompted DeSantis to lash out, accusing the chamber and House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami) of working against other state Republicans.[GOP Rep Alex] Andrade has also taken heat from DeSantis after he accused the administration of breaking the law by misusing state settlement funds when it brokered a $10 million donation that went to Hope Florida in the last weeks before the November election."
"Hope Florida was launched by Casey DeSantis four years ago as a community-based welfare initiative designed to reduce the need for government-subsidized programs. Gov. DeSantis asked the Legislature this year to put Hope Florida into state law, spurring a financial review that left state House leaders with questions and concerns about how taxpayer dollars have been spent," Politico is reporting.
Speaking with Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Shevaun Harris, State Rep. Alex Andrade (R) accused, "That was a policy decision … that I believe was illegal. We discover that state agencies are redirecting money secretly at the 11th hour in the legal settlement without giving us any notice," the Miami Herald is reporting.
In a hearing this past week Andrade vowed, "If we can’t get information… I think at some point a subpoena would be valid."
You can read more from Politico here.