Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) slammed an apparent investigation into the Hope Florida Foundation, an organization linked to first lady Casey DeSantis’s signature welfare assistance program known as Hope Florida, on Tuesday.
“Based on what?” the governor said during a press conference in Tampa promoting Hope Florida, when asked about the investigation, which was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald.
“Everything that’s been thrown at it is pure politics. And I don’t think it’s appropriate to be doing politics, whether it’s a congressional or a state committee or any of these other things,” the governor continued. “I believe in this program deeply, and I stand by it 100%.”
Casey DeSantis said at the same event that they would “continue to double down on hope.”
“This is not about politics, this is about doing good on behalf of the people who deserve a chance for somebody to fight for them,” she said.
The Florida news outlets reported on Tuesday that when they filed a request for records related to the Hope Florida Foundation that prosecutors received from state Rep. Alex Andrade (R), who was leading the investigation into the foundation in the state House, the public records administrator for state attorney Jack Campbell responded that the information could not be released because it “is part of an open, on-going investigation.”
The Hill also submitted a request for the information and received the same response.
Last month, the state House Healthcare Budget Subcommittee dropped its investigation into a $10 million donation to the charity after two witnesses did not show up to testify.
At question is whether the $10 million donation to the Hope Florida Foundation was money from a settlement agreement involving the state’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene Corp., after Florida was overbilled for Medicaid.
Critics say a portion of that settlement, all of which was intended to be returned to state and federal coffers, was sent to the Hope Florida Foundation and eventually ended up in the hands of political groups that campaigned against a ballot measure to legalize marijuana last fall. Ron DeSantis was among the politicians opposed to the measure’s passage. DeSantis and his allies deny the money was not from the settlement.
The governor has also maintained the investigation was part of a “manufactured” smear campaign against him and his wife. The governor and first lady have continued to hold events promoting the program across the state.
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