Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing criticism over the Hope Florida Foundation, overseen by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, on charges that it misused $10 million in funds.
Republicans in the statehouse have argued that the money was inappropriately used to help campaign against a ballot measure in November that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state, The Hill reported.
The money came from a settlement involving Centene, the state's largest Medicaid contributor. The settlement, meant to go to state and federal funding, was redirected to the foundation and ended up being used by political groups to campaign against the ballot measure, which DeSantis opposed, the Hill reported.
DeSantis originally denied the allegations, though a draft agreement obtained by the Miami Herald appears to contradict him. DeSantis had previously argued that the $10 million given to the nonprofit groups was separate from the settlement money.
The draft agreement suggested that $10 was funneled through the charity connected to the organization founded and promoted by Casey DeSantis and eventually sent to two nonprofit groups involved in the campaign against the ballot measure, The Hill reported. One of those groups gave money to a PAC tied to James Uthmeier, the governor's then-chief of staff, the Miami Herald reported
"This whole article — the next in a series of coordinated hit pieces — falsely projects a plaintiff's attorney's aspirational assessment of a case as fact," Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for DeSantis, said in a statement. "This shady spin is why this reporter was so cagey when reaching out on this 'story' and wouldn't be upfront."
DeSantis' camp has maintained that the agreement was negotiated by the state's Agency for Health Care Administration.
At a state hearing, the Hope Florida Foundation's chair, Joshua Hay admitted there were issues with recordkeeping.
"There are lapses in reporting procedures," Hay said. "The foundation was not provided with the staffing support necessary to ensure all matters were being quickly and appropriately handled."
At a press conference, DeSantis said the House Republicans investigating the issue were behaving like Democrats and were threatened by his wife possibly running for governor in 2026.
"They are colluding with the left," he said. "They are colluding with the media to try to sabotage all of the great success that Florida has had over these last six years. We have this almost 3-to-1 supermajority of Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives, and it is rotten. If you're looking at 2026 and you've got some horse, you don't want her anywhere near that. You're very worried because she runs circles around their people. Everybody knows that."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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