Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is facing growing backlash in his state over allegations involving an organization linked to his wife.
The controversy concerns a $10 million payment to the Hope Florida Foundation, which is tied to first lady Casey DeSantis’s welfare assistance program Hope Florida and has led to criticism from some state House Republicans. Critics argue this money was inappropriately used to help campaign against a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state last November.
That money, critics say, was part of a settlement agreement involving the state’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene. According to them, a chunk 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 the ballot measure, which Gov. DeSantis was also opposed to.