DeSantis punches back at Hope Florida controversy, likens 'lawfare' to attacks on Trump and nominees

The office of Florida Gov Ron DeSantis punched back at assertions linking the governor and his wife Casey DeSantis to million given to the Hope Florida Foundation after the state settled with a government-sponsored healthcare provider Governor DeSantis and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis have been subject to politically motivated lawfare in the state of Florida and now the same lawfare is being perpetrated against President Trump and his nominees Communications Director Bryan Griffin reported Fox News Digital It s ridiculous and especially shameful coming from Republicans who hate to see others delivering results DESANTIS GOADS CONGRESS TO FOLLOW FL S DOGE BLUEPRINT AS MUSK S CUTS STILL WAIT FOR VOTECentene a large anatomical insurance provider that specializes in government-sponsored programs like Medicaid and Medicare returned million in a settlement with the state s Agency for Robustness Care Administration over asserts that Centene was overbilling Medicaid payments Following the settlement in September million of the funds were sent to the Hope Florida Foundation The million given to the Hope Florida Foundation was then split into two separate million grants to c organizations One went to Save Our Society from Drugs and the other to Secure Florida s Future Inc Subsequently million of those funds were dispersed to Keep Florida Clean a political action committee that previously targeted Florida Amendment a constitutional amendment to recreationally legalize marijuana Casey DeSantis has been outspoken against the legalization of marijuana A senior official from DeSantis's office notified Fox News Digital that the Hope Florida Foundation is a separate entity from the Hope Florida initiative that has been spearheaded by Casey DeSantis GOP RAILS AGAINST 'BLATANTLY FALSE' DEM ALLEGES ABOUT MEDICAID AMENDMENT IN TRUMP'S 'BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL'A senior official from DeSantis office also communicated Fox News Digital that there is no official review being conducted by the Leon County State Attorney s office despite reports that a record custodian in the state attorney s office referred to the matter as an open ongoing scrutiny In a May email exchange obtained by Fox News Digital the New York Times corrected a headline stating that Casey DeSantis Is Under Analysis after a DeSantis official clarified to the publication that there is no official review taking place Florida state Republican Rep Alex Andrade chairman of the healthcare appropriations subcommittee originally unearthed the funds Andrade notified Fox he was unaware if there was an actual ongoing inspection but added that he had a long conversation with the Department of Justice about documents and communications related to the movement of funds He noted he does nOt see how Casey or Ron DeSantis are involved DR OZ SAYS TAXPAYERS FOOTING BILLION BILL FOR MEDICAID FRAUD WHILE ELIGIBLE PATIENTS STRUGGLE FOR CAREAndrade went on to explain that he believes DeSantis s chief of staff at the time was involved in brokering the grants between the Hope Florida Foundation and the two entities which received million each He also slammed the Hope Florida initiative itself saying they can t back up any of the insists about what state employees are doing The concept of Hope Florida is telling existing employees to do a better job of helping people Andrede added That s it DeSantis previously addressed Andrade s declares at a May press conference in Westin Florida DESANTIS EXCORIATES FL HOUSE LEADERSHIP AMID REPUBLICAN CIVIL WAR ACCUSING THEM OF 'REVOLT AGAINST' VOTERS You had one state representative with a political agenda and he has a political agenda to try to smear Hope Florida to try to smear people associated with the administration DeSantis explained My wife who's done a great job for this state by the way not just on Hope Florida saving taxpayers million getting people off means-tested welfare Show me someone else in this country that has been able to do that The Hope Florida Foundation dispute has shaken up political implications for the upcoming governor s race Gov DeSantis is termed out but his wife Casey is widely rumored to enter the field Republican Rep Byron Donalds of Florida is the only GOP candidate declared so far and he received an endorsement from President Donald Trump shortly after his announcement Fox News Digital reached out to the Leon County State Attorney s office but did not receive a response in time for publication