Scrutiny of a welfare program that is the signature initiative of Casey DeSantis, Florida's first lady is threatening to undermine a potential run to succeed her husband as governor, as well as his own presidential ambitions.
Lawmakers in Gov. Ron DeSantis' own party have been investigating Hope Florida amid revelations that its foundation gave $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement to two nonprofits. Those groups in turn gave millions to a political committee, chaired by DeSantis’ then-chief of staff, that campaigned against a failed referendum on recreational marijuana.
Republican lawmakers have been grilling gubernatorial appointees and foundation officials for weeks in combative hearings on Hope Florida, an initiative in the state Department of Children and Families, or DCF.
DeSantis and his administration defend the initiative, saying it has helped transition 30,000 people off government assistance and saved the state $100 million.
“Hope Florida is a philosophy,” Casey DeSantis said Thursday at an event in St. Augustine. “It is, how can we help people in need and do better?"
A spokesperson for DeSantis said he and the first lady “do not have a role” in the foundation, though they have “promoted its efforts and lent support to its mission.”
DCF and multiple people named in this story did not respond to requests for comment.
Here's a look at Hope Florida and the probe into its foundation's spending:
A push to reduce government dependence
SEPT. 9, 2021: Hope Florida launches, using state employees to connect needy Floridians to community-based nonprofits and faith institutions and weaning them off government assistance.
AUG. 25, 2023: The Hope Florida Foundation is created as a nonprofit to support DCF in a role that is “exclusively charitable,” according to its articles of incorporation. Under federal law, such 501(c)(3) nonprofits must adhere to strict limits on lobbying and political campaigning.
AUGUST 2024: DCF fails to publish the foundation's tax documents, fiscal plan, code of ethics, mission and results, as is required annually by law.
A $10 million donation
SEPT. 27, 2024: Florida reaches a $67 million settlement in an overbilling dispute with the Centene Corp., the state's largest Medicaid contractor. Under the deal, Centene donates $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation.
OCT. 11, 2024: James Uthmeier, DeSantis' then-chief of staff, sets up a conversation with Amy Ronshausen, executive director of the nonprofit Save Our Society From Drugs, according to text messages obtained by The Associated Press. At the time, Uthmeier chaired a political committee campaigning against Amendment 3, the doomed marijuana referendum.
OCT. 13, 2024: Secure Florida's Future, a nonprofit led by the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, applies to the Hope Florida Foundation for a $5 million grant. Secure Florida's Future Chair Mark Wilson proposes a “long-term, targeted business partner recruitment strategy and public awareness campaign.” The application does not specifically outline how the funds will be spent.
OCT. 14, 2024: The Hope Florida Foundation board is formally notified of the $10 million donation, which amounts to more than 10 times what the charity raised the previous fiscal year, according to recently released tax documents. The board is also briefed on the $5 million grant application from Secure Florida's Future. “This proposal has been developed in alignment with the Department and Executive Administration,” reads a copy of the meeting minutes obtained by AP.
Where the money went
OCT. 16, 2024: The Hope Florida Foundation wires $5 million to Secure Florida's Future, according to Joshua Hay, chair of the foundation's board.
OCT. 17, 2024: Secure Florida's Future donates $2 million to Keep Florida Clean, the PAC controlled by Uthmeier, according to the state's campaign finance database. Days later, Secure Florida's Future sends $1.75 million more.
OCT. 18, 2024: Ronshausen messages Hope Florida Foundation attorney Jeff Aaron about a grant application she plans to submit to the charity, according to texts shared with AP. Aaron texts Ronshausen a copy of the letter that was submitted days earlier by Secure Florida’s Future.
“I’d do it like that for the same amount and let’s see what the board agrees too,” Aaron texts.
“Just emailed it,” Ronshausen replies.
Aaron responds: “Received! Can you send me wire instructions?”
OCT. 22, 2024: The Hope Florida Foundation wires $5 million to Save Our Society From Drugs, according to Hay.
OCT. 23, 2024: Save Our Society From Drugs donates $1.6 million to Keep Florida Clean, followed by $3.15 million more in the following days.
NOV. 5, 2024: The marijuana amendment is backed by a majority of voters but falls short of the 60% threshold needed to pass.
FEB. 17, 2025: DeSantis appoints Uthmeier as state attorney general.
The probe begins
APRIL 11, 2025: The flow of funds from the Hope Florida Foundation to the nonprofits, which in turn donated millions to Uthmeier's PAC, is first reported by the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times.
APRIL 15, 2025: Hay testifies under oath in a Florida House subcommittee chaired by Republican Rep. Alex Andrade. He defends Hope Florida's mission but acknowledges that “mistakes were made.”
“I cannot confirm what the funds were used for,” Hay says. “We have no monitoring procedures.”
APRIL 16, 2025: The Hope Florida Foundation publicly releases its tax documents and bylaws.
APRIL 22, 2025: Uthmeier tells reporters that he “wasn’t part of securing the deal” for Centene’s donation but “everything looks legal.”
“I’m glad for what we did,” Uthmeier says. “I’m very thankful those groups stepped up and helped us secure a big win.”
APRIL 24, 2025: At around 8:00 a.m., Andrade announces that he is wrapping up his committee's probe, after Aaron, Ronshausen and Wilson decline to testify.
“I am firmly convinced that James Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron engaged in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud and that several parties played a role in the misuse of $10 million in Medicaid funds,” Andrade says. “I’ll leave the rest of the investigation up to the FBI and Department of Justice.”
About an hour and a half later, Gov. DeSantis calls the probe a “smear” ahead of the 2026 campaign: “Some of these people, you know, view it as a way to attack the first lady,” he says, adding that those people “view her as a threat.”
That evening, Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez tells reporters that the chamber's oversight is not over and “all options are still on the table with Hope Florida.”
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Associated Press writer Stephany Matat in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed. Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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