Free Republic

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration this week released its most detailed explanation to date on its legal reasoning behind diverting $10 million in Medicaid settlement money to the Hope Florida Foundation. In short, only $57 million of a $67 million legal settlement Florida made with the Medicaid contractor Centene was considered “potential Medicaid-related damages to the State,” Agency for Health Care Administration General Counsel Andrew Sheeran wrote to lawmakers on Tuesday. That meant that Centene could be directed to divert the remaining $10 million to the Hope Florida charity, Sheeran wrote. The charity was created by DeSantis’ administration to support the...

Officials revealed more answers about donations to Hope Florida ahead of their board meeting Thursday. The Hope Florida Foundation posted drafts of unfiled tax documents online. The draft tax form is for the previous fiscal year, before a $10 million donation from a Medicaid settlement was made. But it shows no other donation has come close. Members of the House Health Budget subcommittee are looking into a $10 million donation that found its way to political committees opposing last year’s recreational marijuana amendment. Members of the subcommittee were visibly frustrated that information in the document wasn’t available during Tuesday’s hearing....

The Florida charity created by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration didn’t keep meeting minutes, had no budget or bylaws, didn’t file its tax returns and asked few questions before steering $10 million to two dark money groups, the board’s chairperson told a House committee on Tuesday. The Hope Florida Foundation — created to support first lady Casey DeSantis’ top initiative — doesn’t seem to have obeyed any of the requirements in state law governing its ethics, oversight or governance, lawmakers found. “In recent weeks, the public reporting has made evident that mistakes were made,” said the board’s chairperson, Joshua Hay, the...

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), once a rising star in the Republican Party, is staring down a pair of decisions in 2026 and 2028 regarding his family’s political future that could both run afoul of fellow Floridian President Donald Trump. Despite a disastrous 2024 presidential campaign, DeSantis, a popular governor, is a rumored candidate for a 2028 run, setting up a likely showdown with Vice President JD Vance. However, the term-limited Florida governor also faces more tensions with Trump if his wife, Casey DeSantis, challenges a Trump-backed congressman in 2026 to succeed him in the governor’s mansion. “DeSantis’s strong conservative record...

Gov. Ron DeSantis came out swinging Monday against allegations that first lady Casey DeSantis’ charitable initiative, Hope Florida, funneled taxpayer money for political purposes. The DeSantis administration is accused of steering $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to Hope Florida. Shortly after that disbursement, Hope Florida sent $5 million each to two separate not-for-profit organizations, Secure Florida’s Future, run by the Chamber of Commerce and Save our Society from Drugs, according to reporting from the Tampa Bay Times.

Governor Ron DeSantis is taking a new round of heat from members of both parties over a $10 million payment that went to the First Lady's "Hope Florida" project, with some lawmakers saying it was potentially illegal. The money came from a settlement from a healthcare company, which was then used to help fight for the governor's political agenda. "Shame on you in the Florida House and your terrible behavior and leadership," the governor said during a news conference Monday morning. The governor is responding to tweets from the house Republican who led a committee hearing last week, Rep. Alex...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday defended a state agency’s involvement with a $10 million donation to a charity founded by his wife as a “cherry on top” deal using funds from a settlement between the agency and the state’s largest Medicaid contractor. State law mandates that money from the settlement be put in a trust fund or a general fund under legislative oversight. DeSantis called the settlement “100% appropriate”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis escalated his attacks against Randy Fine on Wednesday, blaming the representative-elect’s “unique problems” for a special election victory he said should have been won by a higher margin. Appearing at a press conference in Ocala, Florida, the day after the election, DeSantis argued that President Donald Trump’s involvement in the 6th District race pushed Fine over the line. He added voters had not wanted to support Fine, who Trump had endorsed, and that the president “really had to bail him out in the end.”

He wants lawmakers to issue $1,000 for each of about 5.1 million homesteaded properties in the state. The rebates would be issued in December, covering state-mandated school property taxes, which he says would prevent a loss in funding for districts. “We need to focus on our Florida residents and to focus on in this case, Florida homeowners, particularly our homesteaded homeowners and we need to focus our relief there.” The second-term Republican governor and former presidential candidate said he wants a ballot initiative aimed at lower property taxes on the 2026 ballot that he says will provide “robust protections” for...

Governor Ron DeSantis is heading to Boise, Idaho on Monday, reportedly as part of a campaign to build support for a federal Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would require the federal government to spend no more than it collects in revenue. DeSantis is leading a coalition of Republican governors supporting the amendment through the nonprofit Balanced Budget Now, which he launched alongside Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and introduced to the Republican Governors Association. The campaign seeks to promote a federal Balanced Budget Amendment either through congressional approval or a convention of states...

Article III of the United States Constitution makes one remedy for judicial tyranny as plain as language can make it. “The judicial Power of the United States,” Section I of Article III begins, “shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” With that plain language undoubtedly in mind, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida took to the social media platform X Wednesday morning to offer a historically plausible solution to the problem of inferior federal judges who have insisted upon “sabotaging” President Donald Trump’s popular...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis applauded President Donald Trump's plans to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, saying Wednesday that doing so will put "American excellence at the forefront of education policy" while eliminating a bureaucracy that stifles success."Abolishing the department and reinvigorating state control of education would enable states like Florida to serve better the needs of students, parents, and teachers," DeSantis, a Republican, wrote in The Wall Street Journal, touting the successes in his state coming from allowing more local control in education.The governor noted that in Florida, his administration has pushed for student-focused and parent-friendly policies in education,...

On March 4, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis gave his State of the State address to the Florida legislature. In the address, Governor DeSantis vocalized his support for restoring Second Amendment rights. Second Amendment statements start about minute 24 into the speech:The free state of Florida has not exactly led the way on protecting Second Amendment rights. We have some of the more “weak” laws on the country compared to our other states who consider themselves conservative. I would ask you to protect peoples Second Amendment Rights. Look back in instances where legislation may have been passed in recent years, such...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis drew a sharp turn away from the Trump administration Thursday by announcing that controversial online figures Andrew Tate and his brother Tristen are not welcome in Florida. A spokesperson said the brothers landed in Fort Lauderdale earlier on Thursday. DeSantis’s comments come in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s position after reports surfaced that the decision to let the brothers leave Romania was a result of President Donald Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell who raised their case during a hallway exchange with Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month. As...

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) announced his candidacy for governor of Florida in 2026 during a Fox News appearance Tuesday night. “We’re going to continue being the freeest state and the best state moving forward,” he said.Due to term limits in Florida, Ron DeSantis is not eligible for reelection, and Byron Donalds was the first to officially announce his bid for the Republican primary.As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump made an early endorsement for Donalds in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race last week.Pres. Trump Endorses Byron Donalds for Governor of Florida in 2026The endorsement came amid speculation about other...

DeSantis, who is term limited from running in 2026, has spent weeks pitching his wife, Casey DeSantis, as a candidate to replace him.But Thursday, Trump endorsed Donalds, who has not declared himself a candidate, in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial race.“I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER!” said Trump, adding “RUN, BYRON, RUN!”Addressing Trump’s endorsement of Donalds Monday, DeSantis criticized Donalds for not playing a role in DeSantis’s work in Florida.His comments did not seem to phase Donalds, who took the high road.“I am honored to have...

I hesitate to write about anything that is going to encourage people to move to the Southeast. As we like to say here in Atlanta, "we full." But it's not just that. Yankees and West Coasters love to move to our little slice of the country because we have a cheaper cost of living and bring their liberal big government and high-tax policies with them, and it kind of ruins things for the rest of us. AdvertisementWell, I'm going to make an exception here because I like what's happening in Florida, and I hope my home state of Georgia —...

Gov. Ron DeSantis weighed in on the 2026 governor's race on Monday by lashing out at Donald Trump's candidate, Byron Donalds, for failing to help defeat "the left" in Florida while suggesting his wife, Casey DeSantis, would be the stronger pick in the 2026 race. Wading into the looming gubernatorial race for the first time since President Trump endorsed Congressman Donalds for the position on Friday, DeSantis blasted the Representative for campaigning in other states and not bringing in results. He then brought up the "wonderful First Lady" who would "do better" than DeSantis had in a Republican primary. This...

Vice President JD Vance handily won the 2028 Republican presidential nominee straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this week, receiving an overwhelming majority of votes over former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.The poll, asking CPAC attendees who they would vote for in the next GOP presidential primary election, was shared by former White House press secretary Sean Spicer on X:Vance, a former U.S. senator from Ohio and author of New York Times bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, came out on top with 61 percent of the vote. The runner-up was Bannon, host of the...

Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a significant policy initiative to either abolish or drastically lower property taxes in the state. This proposal is part of his broader strategy to reduce the tax burden on residents and stimulate economic growth. DeSantis argues that high property taxes are a considerable financial strain on homeowners and businesses. By reducing or eliminating these taxes, he aims to increase disposable income for residents and attract more investment into the state. The proposal has received support from various business groups and fiscal conservatives who believe that lower taxes will lead to increased economic activity and job...