PENSACOLA, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis on Tuesday forcefully defended their Hope Florida initiative during a press conference at Pensacola State College, even as questions swirl over how $10 million in taxpayer money was routed to a private charity affiliated with the program.
“This is not a program per se — this is about a philosophy,” Casey DeSantis said during the event.
Still, Hope Florida is a program — one run by the Florida Department of Children and Families. Yet state officials, including DCF Secretary Taylor Hatch, were unable to provide specific answers when pressed about how the $10 million was spent.
“I do not …,” Hatch began in response to a question, trailing off without clarification.
State financial records show the Hope Florida Foundation granted $5 million apiece to two dark money political committees linked to the governor and his then-chief of staff.
The lack of transparency has drawn criticism from local officials, including some questioning whether the money was used to support political activities, such as opposing a proposed constitutional amendment on medical marijuana that will appear on the November ballot.
“We’ve got funding that there is no answers to. I am trying to wrap my head around how this happened,” said State Rep. Allison Tant (D).
Joshua Hay, president of the Hope Florida Foundation, also expressed uncertainty.
“I cannot confirm what the funds were used for. We have monetary procedures; we have no staff,” he said.
State Rep. Alex Andrade (R), took it a step further.
“I don’t know if you can retroactively bless money laundering and wire fraud or not. Looks like that’s what they are attempting to do,” he said.
Despite the controversy, both Ron and Casey DeSantis proceeded with the Hope Florida event, where they announced the launch of 28 on-campus liaisons at state colleges to help connect students with resources and services.
“This is not a distraction,” the governor said. “They are trying to manufacture smears to support their political agenda.”
The event came on the same day lawmakers in Tallahassee advanced House Bill 1321, a measure co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman and Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani. The bill would roll back a change DeSantis supported by requiring presidential searches at state colleges and universities to be made public again.
DeSantis lashed out at the legislation, calling it a coordinated attack by both Democrats and Republicans.
“They are colluding with the left — they are colluding with the media to try to sabotage all the great success that Florida’s had,” DeSantis said.
He also claimed some Republican lawmakers were betraying the voters who supported his administration.
“When they’re attacking me, they’re attacking you,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for six years, but you have Republicans in the Florida House that are stabbing you in the back to push their political agenda.”
DeSantis described the current Florida House as “the least productive Florida House of Representatives in the modern history of the Florida Republican Party,” and suggested the legislation was an attempt to divert attention from questions about the Hope Florida funding.
“Something is rotten in the Florida House of Representatives,” he said. “This bill is designed to unravel all the success we’ve had.”
Local 10 News viewers can watch the news conference in the video below.
