FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to speak up against the Florida House of Representatives during a news conference Wednesday morning in Fort Myers.
DeSantis said the Florida House’s budget seeks to defund raises that he had set for law enforcement officers in the state, and said it also cuts 84 current Florida Highway Patrol trooper positions and ballistic armor used by troopers.
“I just think it’s disgraceful that they’re targeting Highway Patrol and law enforcement the way they are. They bat their chest, they say they’re for it. In this business, talk is cheap. Anyone can tell you anything. Show me your deeds. Show me what you’re actually doing,” DeSantis said.
Press play above to watch DeSantis’ remarks
Tensions between DeSantis and the Florida House have recently begun escalating, with the governor calling out the Florida House on several occasions, claiming it is pursuing an agenda that contradicts its campaign promises.
“You also have them trying to sabotage everything we’ve done, trying to join with Democrats to, you know, attack me, attack the administration. You know, just manufacturing crap to try to distract from their failures,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis added that law enforcement needs to be supported now more than ever, as the workload has increased. He pointed out that because of his immigration reforms, law enforcement is now also obligated to help with immigration enforcement and deportation efforts.
“They’re actively working with the federal government to identify illegal aliens and get them out. And so why are you cutting positions?” DeSantis said.
The governor also continued to defend the Hope Florida program, spearheaded by his wife Casey DeSantis, amid a widening probe into the nonprofit’s receipt of $10 million as part of a Medicaid managed-care company’s $67 million settlement with the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
“The whole thing that the House leadership is doing is a manufactured fraud. This is a hoax. They are trying to smear one of the most successful programs anywhere in the country, which is our government policy. It’s not an associated chair. It’s our government policy that has gotten 30,000 people off of welfare and saved $100 million but more important than that, it’s actually given people hope,” DeSantis said.
MORE | Hope Florida chairman says ‘mistakes were made’ with record-keeping amid probe into $10M donation
Joshua Hay, chairman of the Hope Florida Foundation Inc., appeared before the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee on Tuesday and said under oath that “mistakes were made” with the foundation’s record-keeping, as a skirmish over the group’s finances continued to escalate.
