Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officials assigned $10 million to his wife's charity. Was it legal?

Lawrence Mower and Alexandra Glorioso, Tampa Bay Times on Apr 8, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration diverted $10 million in state settlement money last year to the charity arm of a welfare initiative led by his wife.

The unusual injection of cash was part of an undisclosed settlement agreement involving Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. The money went to the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit that was established by the state to help realize Casey DeSantis’ vision to reshape welfare.

Under Florida law, money from certain settlement agreements must be deposited into a state trust fund or the general revenue fund, where lawmakers can decide how to spend it.

It’s not clear whether the law applies because the state is refusing to release the settlement’s details, including the circumstances or parties involved.

A state spokesperson said the law does not apply because “this money was not paid to the state.” She did not elaborate.

The $10 million infusion could be the latest question to arise about the foundation, which was established two years ago to raise money to assist Hope Florida, a state program created by the DeSantises.

Formally launched in 2022, Hope Florida aims to get residents off government aid, such as food assistance or health care services, by connecting them with faith-based groups and other nonprofits. Those groups are supposed to lift recipients out of poverty through their connections and guidance. It is the DeSantises’ alternative to welfare.

Last week, staffers working for the Republican-controlled House of Representatives asserted that Hope Florida’s fundraising arm was not complying with state laws governing its oversight, ethics or fundraising.

Reporters for the Times/Herald visited Hope Florida Foundation’s headquarters Friday to review the records it filed with the IRS. As a registered nonprofit, the IRS requires the foundation’s documents be made available immediately if someone requests them in person. But an employee told the reporters their request “will be returned in the order it was received” and told them they could leave.

The foundation has never publicly disclosed its donors or the names of the churches and nonprofits receiving its funds. It has not responded to journalists’ records requests.

Yet a $10 million contribution was mentioned in a copy of the foundation’s board meeting minutes from October obtained by the Times/Herald.

“The resolution of a longstanding dispute with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the state has resulted in a $10 million allocation to the Hope Florida Foundation,” the Oct. 14 minutes state.

What the “longstanding dispute” was regarding, or who it involved, is unclear. The settlement does not appear in the Agency for Health Care Administration’s online settlement database.

Agency Deputy Chief of Staff Mallory McManus did not answer questions Monday about what the settlement was regarding or who was involved. She said there was no lawsuit filed.

McManus said it was a “pre-suit settlement” in the agency’s “favor” that was “directed, in part” to Hope Florida Foundation. She did not answer when asked where the rest of the settlement money went.

She wrote that no state funds were spent, so the Legislature did not need to be notified of the settlement under state law. She did not answer why the agency was giving money to Hope Florida Foundation, a state-created “direct support organization” that reports to a different agency, the Department of Children and Families.

McManus is the registered agent for the Hope Florida Foundation on state records.

Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, whose committee oversees the Agency for Health Care Administration’s budget, said he didn’t “want to jump to any conclusions” about the $10 million donation but that he did want more information.

“I’m still unclear about Hope Florida’s mission and purpose,” Andrade told the Times/Herald. “Without details and transparency, I can’t say if this transfer was done for a proper purpose or not.”

DeSantis is pushing the Legislature to enshrine Hope Florida into state law this session. It would give his wife a major legislative victory and a platform to discuss her qualifications for the job should she run to replace DeSantis as governor in 2026. Casey DeSantis has never been elected to office.

But the bills have stalled as the Legislature stops taking up policy and moves on to the budget before the expected May 2 end of the legislative session.

“There’s still a long way to go before it passes the floor,” House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, told CBS News Miami’s Jim DeFede on Sunday. “I know the first lady cares about it, but we’ll take it on a stop-by-stop basis as it goes through the committee process.”