(The Hill) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is going through rising backlash over allegations involving a company linked to his spouse’s signature welfare help program Hope Florida.
The controversy issues a $10 million fee to the Hope Florida Basis, which is tied to first woman Casey DeSantis’s welfare help program Hope Florida and has led to criticism from some state Home Republicans. Critics argue that this cash was inappropriately used to assist marketing campaign towards a poll measure that might have legalized leisure marijuana within the state final November.
That cash, critics say, was a part of a settlement settlement involving the state’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene. In keeping with them, a piece of that settlement, all of which was supposed to be returned to state and federal coffers, ended up within the fingers of political teams that campaigned towards the poll measure, which Gov. DeSantis was additionally against.
DeSantis has denied the allegations. However on Tuesday, Florida media obtained a draft of an settlement that appeared to contradict the governor, a improvement that threatens to boost strain on DeSantis and comes because the Florida governor and his spouse mull their subsequent political steps within the coming years.
“It’s actually not good for the primary household,” stated one Florida Republican operative. “I feel it has a better influence on her capacity to run for governor greater than the rest.”
The controversy surrounding the Hope Florida Basis goes again to final yr, when the state of Florida found they had been owed $67 million in a settlement with the Centene Company after the state was overbilled for Medicaid. The draft settlement obtained by media on Tuesday advised that $10 million of that cash was funneled to 2 nonprofit teams concerned within the marketing campaign towards the poll measure. A kind of teams gave cash to a PAC tied to DeSantis’s then-chief of employees James Uthmeier.
That appeared to contradict the DeSantis administration’s insistence that the $10 million given to the nonprofit teams was separate from the cash obtained as a part of the settlement.
In an announcement to Florida media, DeSantis’s spokesperson Bryan Griffin famous the negotiations had been dealt with by the Company for Well being Care Administration (AHCA).
“Centene proactively made the state conscious of a billing situation in 2021 and the state labored for years to make sure it was resolved,” Griffin informed the shops, including the company’s “settlement was an incredible profit to the state.”
In a Tuesday put up on the social platform X, Griffin referred to as the reporting on the settlement a coordinated hit piece.
“This complete article — the subsequent in a collection of coordinated hit items — falsely initiatives a plaintiff’s lawyer’s aspirational evaluation of a case as reality,” Griffin stated. “This shady spin is why this reporter was so cagey when reaching out on this ‘story’ and would not be upfront.”
The controversy has sparked anger from members of DeSantis’s personal get together. Lately, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) advised that Florida state Home Republicans might transfer to question Uthmeier over the dealing with of the cash amid the marketing campaign towards Modification 3, the marijuana-related poll measure. Gaetz and lots of Florida Republicans had been against Modification 3 final yr.
DeSantis’s critics, together with quite a few state Home Republicans, had maintained previous to the reporting on Tuesday that the cash despatched to the nonprofits was Medicaid cash.
“The truth that AHCA knew they had been steering $10 million in Medicaid funds to this basis is a critical situation,” state Rep. Alex Andrade (R) informed The Hill. “It’s simply galling. It’s stunning to me that he was that sloppy and that brazen to do what he did with that cash.”
Andrade, the chair of the state Home’s Healthcare Finances Subcommittee, has been investigating the $10 million switch and questioned the Hope Florida Basis earlier this month throughout a listening to with the group’s chair.
Throughout that listening to, the muse’s chair, Joshua Hay, stated “the general public reporting has made evident that errors had been made” with the muse’s recordkeeping.
“There are lapses in reporting procedures. The muse was not supplied with the staffing help vital to make sure all issues had been being shortly and appropriately dealt with,” Hay informed the panel.
DeSantis has hit again towards Andrade, accusing him and different state Home Republicans of sabotaging their very own get together throughout a press convention in Andrade’s district earlier this month.
“We’ve this virtually 3-to-1 supermajority of Republicans within the Florida Home of Representatives and it’s rotten,” DeSantis stated final week. “They’re behaving extra like Democrats. They’re colluding with the left. They’re colluding with the media to attempt to sabotage the entire nice success that Florida has had over these final six years.”
The governor went on to name out what he stated had been manufactured smears towards him and his spouse.
“Some folks really feel threatened by the primary woman. Let’s simply be clear about that,” the governor stated. “They know this; you noticed her up right here. , in case you’re taking a look at 2026 and also you’ve bought some horse, you don’t need her anyplace close to that. You’re very frightened as a result of she runs circles round their folks. All people is aware of that.”
Casey DeSantis has been contemplating a run for governor subsequent yr. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who already has a frosty relationship with the governor, entered the race with the coveted endorsement of President Trump.
Early polling exhibits the primary woman with excessive approval scores. A Mason-Dixon Polling & Technique survey launched in March confirmed Casey DeSantis with a 53 % approval ranking, barely increased than that of Donalds, who got here in at 48 %.
Republicans are blended on whether or not the controversy will do something to hinder her possibilities at successful the governor’s mansion.
“It provides the MAGA world but another excuse in addition to Donald Trump to line up behind Byron Donalds,” the Florida Republican operative stated.
Different operatives and strategists pointed to the complexities of the controversy, arguing that a lot of it might go straight over most voters’ heads.
“It’s bought so many transferring components to make it stick. It’s not one thing that lends itself to a speaking level or a bumper sticker. So in case you’re DeSantis, politically, it simply doesn’t lend itself to one thing that individuals can simply perceive and choose up,” stated Ford O’Connell, a Florida Republican strategist.
One other Republican strategist likened the controversy to a “Tallahassee parlor recreation.”
“If the target was to maintain her out of the race for governor, launching this assault was absolutely the worst factor they may have executed. As an alternative of leaving Casey DeSantis off to the aspect, they as a substitute handed her a megaphone … and he or she took it and ran with it,” the strategist stated.
Andrade pushed again on the notion that the efforts to research the muse had something to do with the primary woman’s political aspirations.
“I don’t care if she information to run for governor. I haven’t endorsed anyone to run for governor,” Andrade stated. “Given how a lot credit score she will get for the Hope Florida Basis and the Hope Florida program, I’m simply form of shocked at how incompetent she’s been in managing all of it.”
The controversy can be seen because the manifestation of what has already been a contentious legislative session in Florida that has seen the governor pitted towards state Home Republicans. Gov. DeSantis and state Home Speaker Daniel Perez (R) have been embroiled in a bitter rivalry going again to earlier this yr, when the governor confronted pushback from Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton (R) over the governor’s requires a particular session to implement Trump’s immigration agenda. Perez has additionally raised quite a few questions on Hope Florida.
In the meantime, within the state Senate, Ethics and Elections Committee Chair Don Gaetz (R), the daddy of the previous congressman, has stated the committee won’t contemplate DeSantis’s nominations for AHCA secretary and Division of Youngsters and Households secretary earlier than the top of the legislative session amid the continuing Home investigation into Hope Florida.
“It’s a really divided authorities proper now in Florida,” the Florida GOP operative stated.
