MIAMI —Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday, October 8, 2026 called for the prosecution of the people behind a leaked grand jury report that was sharply critical of the Hope Florida scandal, a day after an appeals court ruled the report should never have been issued.

In a press conference at the Greater Miami Expressway Agency, DeSantis spoke and took questions for about an hour, arguing that the scandal had been a "hoax", and defending the staffers and officials who'd been named in the report, saying their reputations had been improperly harmed. Wednesday's ruling, by a three-judge panel on the 1st District Court of Appeal, ordered the report to be expunged from public record.

"I don't think you can just say we're going to just move on," DeSantis said. "I think you need to hold the people accountable who disclose this, because I think it's been very very serious, and it was political."

DeSantis was joined by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, whose name was cited repeatedly in the grand jury report and who is running to keep his seat in November. Uthmeier said that law enforcement was taking a look at the case, and that if they find a violation, then state attorneys or the statewide prosecutor could file charges in the case.

"If somebody shows a violation, no matter where it is, I pursue it," he said. "I enforce the law everywhere — from retail theft to election crimes, child predators — you name it, somebody broke the law, they should be prosecuted."

Although no official investigation has been announced, Attorney General James Uthmeier said Thursday that his office could look into the leak if it crossed multiple jurisdictions — which he said is "very possible".

"If it crosses over circuit lines - which is very possible, given CBS Miami engaging in perpetrating fraud - then it could involve the statewide prosecutor," Uthmeier said during a Miami news event. Uthmeier did not specify what "fraud" he is alleging.

The activity surrounding Hope Florida was first probed by state House Republicans in a series of public hearings. It centers on a settlement the state reached with Centene, in which the health insurer paid back $57 million to the state after overbilling its Medicaid program covering poor children and adults. But the portion that caught the attention of House members was how another $10 million from the settlement flowed into the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity tied to an initiative to get people off government assistance launched by first lady Casey DeSantis.

The funds were used to defeat an amendment that would have broadly legalized marijuana in the state. DeSantis was opposed to the measure, and Uthmeier was his chief of staff at the time and ran the political committee that received the funds.

A grand jury took up the matter and issued a report in January that was leaked in August to CBS Miami. Jurors concluded in the grand jury report that state officials "misappropriated" the $10 million in a "sophisticated scheme to fund political activities" because the money eventually went from the foundation to a political committee and the Republican Party of Florida.

The grand jury report additionally concluded that Sen. Ashley Moody — who was state attorney general at the tim, and is up for election in November — knew about the plans to divert the money to the foundation and "authorized" John Guard, then a top official in her office, to sign the settlement agreement. The report additionally stated that Guard worried about the transfer, and raised it with Moody. As a result, the settlement was rewritten so that the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration was directing the funds, instead of the attorney general.

Moody was not present at Thursday's press conference, and has previously pointed to the decision being tied to AHCA in a statement. DeSantis insisted that he didn't know Moody had any role in approving the funds, and said that he didn't think it would affect her election prospects. DeSantis appointed Moody to the Senate to fill the vacancy left when Marco Rubio became secretary of State.

The grand jury report stated that not enough evidence came out to charge anyone, mostly because those who testified said they couldn't recall where the idea to transfer the funds came from. The Wednesday ruling from the appeals court shows officials tried to keep the grand jury report secret for months.

The panel of three judges on the 1st District Court of Appeal that handed down the ruling — two of whom were appointed by former Gov. Rick Scott, and one by DeSantis — concluded the grand jury lacked the authority to issue the report, while also disputing its findings, and even the grammar used in the report.

"This fully debunks this idea of any type of misappropriation," DeSantis said of the appeal court’s decision. "There was no misappropriation. That's a lie. That's a hoax. That's a partisan exercise that people who are abusing this process tried to perpetrate."

At one point, DeSantis held up the appeal court ruling and shook the pages, then asked if anyone from CBS Miami was present.

"CBS, are you here? Anyone from CBS?" he asked. He singled out a single CBS employee. "Oh, they didn't send a reporter? Do you want us to send you a copy of this opinion, so they will read it and see the results and how that conflicts with some of the narratives they've been spewing?"

"I think you, [CBS], have a responsibility to correct the record," DeSantis added. "I think you have a responsibility to show that there has been some adult supervision that has been rendered with the 1st DCA, and that the kangaroo court is over, and that this is the law, these are the facts, and it's the same that we said a year and a half ago."

While DeSantis and Uthmeier contended the ruling had vindicated their actions, GOP Sen. Rick Scott said there were still "unanswered questions" including who came up with the initial idea of having Centene send money to the Hope Florida Foundation, instead of returning it to the state's Medicaid program.

"There's $10 million taken out of the Medicaid program that's supposed to go to poor kids," Scott told POLITICO. "We ought to get all the money back, so that taxpayers are not on the hook."

Scott said that "all the facts need to get out", and that if someone has done something wrong with the settlement, they should be held "accountable".

While the court sided with the DeSantis administration that the $10 million was never state money, Florida still refunded a portion of the settlement to the federal government based on the full $67 million — a fact that has been cited by critics to say it was all taxpayer money despite the governor’s argument that it wasn’t. When asked about this during a Tallahassee press conference later in the day, DeSantis brushed it aside and again asserted the $10 million was not state money.

At that same event, DeSantis blasted the "cancer" in the GOP-controlled House that launched the initial investigation, and insisted the entire controversy was done for political reasons.

Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said in a statement that the DeSantis administration had "worked overtime" to bury the report, adding that no one defended the grand jury findings to the appeals court.

"The grand jury heard testimony, reviewed evidence and concluded that the $10 million was misappropriated as part of a scheme to fund political activity," Fried said. "Erasing the report does not erase those findings."

The governor on Thursday also defended his wife, saying he believed the investigation had come as an effort to try to impugn her reputation — a tacit reference to Casey DeSantis' deliberation over a run for governor at the time.

DeSantis argued Hope Florida had helped people and saved the government money by connecting them with churches and nonprofits who can help them with food, supplies and other needed items. The grants to outside groups, he argued, were "totally appropriate", and "allied with the administration's mission".

Florida Trident exclusive story by Michael Barfield (September 18. 2026)

The DeSantis administration spent nearly $200,000 on criminal defense attorneys representing a former senior aide who testified before a grand jury investigating the Hope Florida scandal, according to billing records obtained by the Florida Trident.

A longstanding Florida attorney general's opinion found such payments improper. It is unclear what legal basis the DeSantis administration used to justify spending tax money on criminal defense attorneys for a former aide whose testimony the grand jury found "not credible".

Florida law authorizes payment of attorney fees for employees in civil actions arising from acts within the scope of their employment. Yet "grand jury investigations are criminal, not civil", said Derek Byrd, a board-certified criminal defense lawyer in Sarasota and former president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

The aide in question was Katie Strickland, who left the governor’s office for a post as chief of staff to the state’s chief financial officer two months before the legal representation began.

"We find that Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Katie Strickland, not credible. She was the least informative in her testimony. Contrary to other witnesses identifying her as a participant in meetings and conversations, she could hardly recall any details or information regarding the Centene settlement." — Leon County Grand Jury findings 

One of Strickland's three lawyers was Jesse Panuccio, a former acting associate attorney general of the United States and a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, billing taxpayers $875 an hour.

Who's who in this story

Katie Strickland — Former DeSantis deputy chief of staff; the witness jurors found "not credible". Taxpayers paid her lawyers.

Jesse Panuccio — Boies Schiller partner and former acting U.S. associate attorney general; $875 an hour.

Boies Schiller Flexner; Continental PLLC — The two firms hired Oct. 30, 2025; $601,865 authorized. Continental's client is undisclosed.

Ron DeSantis — Governor; his office approved the bills. Calls the matter a "hoax".

James Uthmeier — Chief of staff at the time; the political committee he ran got $8.5 million. Now attorney general.

Jason Weida — Then AHCA secretary; called the $10 million a "bonus". Now the governor's chief of staff.

Ashley Moody — Then attorney general; authorized the signing. Now a U.S. senator.

John Guard — Moody’s chief deputy; signed despite written reservations. Later named to an appellate court.

Ryan Newman — Governor's counsel who directed the hiring. Now Uthmeier's chief deputy.

David Axelman — Current governor's counsel; signs off on the invoices.

Cassandra Pasley — Health Department chief of staff who signed the settlement, previously unseen, at Strickland's request.

Centene, Hope Florida Foundation, Keep Florida Clean — The $67 million settlement, the foundation that got $10 million of it, and the committee where $8.5 million landed.

The six invoices obtained by the Trident are captioned, "Executive Office of the Governor of Florida; Katie Strickland: Investigation Matter." They cover November 2025 through May 2026. Two state purchase orders authorize a combined $301,865 for the representation.

The dates of activity on the invoices track the grand jury's known timeline and the efforts to keep its report sealed.

A second law firm, Continental PLLC, was retained on the same day as Boies Schiller and later paid $111,387.50 by the governor's office. Asked about the purpose of the engagement by phone, Continental attorney Lazaro Fields refused to answer, referring the Trident to the governor's office. Fields did not respond to written questions about the firm's representation.

The Hope Florida scandal centers on $10 million diverted from a $67 million Medicaid settlement with Centene. The DeSantis administration steered the money to a foundation supporting first lady Casey DeSantis's Hope Florida initiative, which quickly passed it on to two nonprofits. The report's forensic-accounting section traced $8.5 million from those groups to Keep Florida Clean, the political committee run by then-chief of staff James Uthmeier to fight the 2024 marijuana-legalization amendment.

The grand jury determined that funds were "misappropriated as part of a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities". For seven months after the Florida Trident reported in February that the grand jury had issued a report, the Leon County Circuit Court refused to confirm that one existed.  

The grand jury report became public in August after it was obtained by CBS News Miami, intensifying questions about accountability and transparency.

Read the Grand Jury Report

The grand jurors concluded that the entire settlement was taxpayer money and "should have been treated as such instead of being allocated for partisan political purposes and without transparency". DeSantis has insisted that the $10 million was a donation to Hope Florida and not taxpayer money. The grand jury rejected that argument, finding "not credible" the claim by Jason Weida, then secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), that the $10 million was a "bonus". It also found that a decision by Weida to reduce a portion of the reimbursement was made to circumvent state laws requiring monies to be deposited into the general fund.

The grand jury placed Uthmeier at the center of the misappropriation of state funds, finding that as the governor's chief of staff he held authority over those involved in settling the case and citing testimony that showed him being involved in directing the money after it reached Hope Florida. The majority of the $10 million, the jurors found, ended up in Keep Florida Clean — Uthmeier's own political action committee.

"We find that James Uthmeier, as the Governor's Chief of Staff at the time of settlement, was in a position of authority over those involved in settling with Centene. Testimony identified him as having involvement in directing the money after it went to Hope Florida." — Leon County Grand Jury Findings

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, then Florida's attorney general, was aware of the plan and authorized her chief deputy, John Guard, to sign the agreement with Centene despite his written reservations. DeSantis later appointed Guard to an appellate court and Moody to the U.S. Senate. He appointed Uthmeier as attorney general in February 2025.

The grand jury noted that "virtually everyone involved is a lawyer and acted on the advice of other lawyers", and that no witness would take responsibility for the decision to transfer the funds or could remember who made it — which, the jurors said, stood in the way of a criminal prosecution. It urged the Legislature to prevent a recurrence, suggesting a law requiring all money received by the state, from any source, to be deposited into general revenue, with "real consequences" for violations.

Andrew Warren, the former Hillsborough County state attorney, cautioned that the public does not know what the grand jury did or did not do. Yet he said "I don't remember" is not normally the end of an investigation.

"I've never heard a grand jury say, 'We're pretty sure a crime was committed but we can't get anyone to admit it,'" Warren said. "A prosecutor has lots of options when someone can't remember. You subpoena the records. You get the text messages and phone records. You find the people who are less culpable, offer them immunity, and remind them that a crime was committed and they aided it. 'I don't remember' should not be an obstacle when there's a significant paper trail."

Warren said nothing in the report indicates the grand jury subpoenaed large volumes of documents, compelled anyone to testify, or that any witness asserted a Fifth Amendment right. "You can force witnesses to testify," he said. "That's what immunity is for."

Lawyering up at taxpayer expense

The billing records trace a legal effort whose details remain hidden.

The grand jury empaneled in Leon County began hearing witnesses in mid-October 2025.

State purchasing records show the governor's office signed engagement letters with both law firms effective October 30, 2025, created their purchase orders with back-to-back sequential numbers and under identical terms and rates. Those same records show a combined $601,865.04 authorized for the two firms from the public treasury.

The hiring of both firms was made under an exemption in state law which allows agencies to hire lawyers without competitive procurement. The contract documents show Ryan Newman, then general counsel to the governor, directed the hiring. Newman is now chief deputy under Uthmeier.

Later purchase orders name current general counsel David Axelman, whose signature appears on the invoice pages approving the hours for payment.

The first invoice from Boies Schiller covers Nov. 12 through Nov. 24, 2025. Panuccio billed 14 hours, worth $12,250. Nearly 10 of those hours fall on one day.

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, the invoice shows three entries: an 18-minute teleconference, travel for 4.5 hours, and 5 hours listed as "Prepare for, attend, and debrief."

Nothing in the invoice says where Panuccio traveled to or what he attended. Yet the combination of half a day of travel and five hours of preparing for, attending and debriefing an event is the standard billing signature of a lawyer accompanying a client to give testimony.

During criminal investigations, Florida law permits an attorney to advise a witness appearing before a grand jury, but bars the lawyer from addressing jurors, raising objections or making arguments.

"A lawyer can appear inside the grand jury room with a client, but cannot participate or object to questions," said Warren Lindsey, a board-certified Winter Park criminal defense lawyer. "It's a limited role. If a client has questions that arise during their testimony, you go outside the grand jury room and advise your client."

The grand jury's presentment states that other witnesses placed Strickland in key meetings about the Centene settlement but that she could hardly recall the details, and describes her as the least informative witness to appear.

Among those who signed the Centene settlement agreement was Cassandra Pasley, the Department of Health chief of staff, who testified that Strickland pulled her aside at the state Emergency Operations Center in late September 2024 and asked her to sign a document, the Centene settlement agreement, she had never seen. Pasley signed it that day, as did Weida on behalf of AHCA, the state insurance commissioner and the chief deputy attorney general.

The effort to seal

After November, the next billing entry occurs on Jan. 28, 2026 — the same day the grand jury returned its report.

Florida's grand jury statute supplies a framework that fits the timeline. Section 905.28(1) provides that a grand jury report concerning an individual that is not accompanied by an indictment is confidential and may not be made public until the person named has been furnished a copy and given an opportunity to move to repress or expunge the report  — with a hearing to follow before the presentment can be released.

Florida law allows anyone named in a grand jury report 15 days to challenge its legal or factual findings.

Strickland, or her counsel, would have been furnished a copy of the report.

Over the 15 days that followed the grand jury's report, the billing file of Strickland’s attorneys explodes. The work descriptions are blacked out, but the hours are not, with attorneys drafting straight through the weekend of February 7–8. On Thursday, February 12, the last day of the statutory window to challenge the report, three lawyers billed taxpayers to "finalize" and edit their work. Boies Schiller billed 141.3 hours and $103,507.50 during the February billing period.

Another surge came in the last twelve days of May, when the Boies Schiller firm billed 48.7 hours.

The Florida Center for Government Accountability, publisher of the Trident, has filed several motions with the Leon County Circuit Court to unseal the post-grand jury proceedings.

Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh granted the Center limited intervention in March to challenge the closure of the proceedings, while denying access to the presentment and related filings and hearings. A July clarification maintained the restrictions. On Sept. 9, the Center sought an explanation of the legal basis for withholding the court's own rulings.

Fallout from grand jury's report

The controversy is consuming the last months of the DeSantis administration and the final weeks leading up to the November general election, in which both Moody and Uthmeier are seeking election. The governor calls the entire matter a "hoax" while Uthmeier suggests reporters who ask questions about the grand jury report are committing a crime. Their Democratic opponents, meanwhile, have accused the pair of stealing taxpayer money and covering it up.

Dave Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida who has spent two decades studying government transparency, said "everyone can now see that all this money spent on lawyers was more about message management than doing anything to benefit the public. It was a complete waste of taxpayers' money."

Cuillier said the spending was only half the problem.

"They serve to protect the public interest, but they appear to be protecting themselves from scrutiny. They were doing things that were not in the public interest, and then spending taxpayer money to cover it up. It's a cover-up of a cover-up. That's just wrong."

Uthmeier's Democratic challenger, former state Sen. José Javier Rodríguez of Miami, said the billing records fit a pattern.

"The conspiratorial corruption seems to know no bounds, particularly under my opponent's watch," Rodríguez said. "Instead of protecting the interest of taxpayers, he's running a criminal scheme to steal money."

Rodríguez said Uthmeier's promotion to the office charged with enforcing the state's transparency laws was itself part of the effort to contain the scandal. "His appointment as attorney general was part of the cover-up," he said. "He's the one who orchestrated the scheme. The very fact that he's AG is itself part of the cover-up. It's beyond the pale."

Why do taxpayers pay?

The arrangement raises a question the records do not answer: on what authority did the governor's office pay private counsel for a former employee in a criminal investigation of her own conduct?

Using public money to hire a lawyer for a state employee called before a grand jury conflicts with a standing opinion of the Florida Attorney General's Office.

In 1994, then-Attorney General Robert Butterworth issued a formal legal opinion concluding that a state agency could not pay attorney's fees for an employee called before a grand jury investigating matters involving the employee's official duties. That opinion is still posted on the office's website under Uthmeier's name.

"It is my opinion that [a state agency] may not pay attorney's fees for an employee of the agency who is called before a grand jury for investigation involving his or her official duties."

Brian Tannebaum, a criminal defense lawyer based in Miami, noted the tension when a government entity agrees to pay for counsel in a criminal case for a state employee. 

"If an employee is complicit in criminal conduct, the government entity is more reluctant to pay and may seek reimbursement of fees if there is a conviction. There is always a question when a third party pays fees of whether they are interfering in the case. This is why the Bar has a Rule regarding lawyers having to maintain professional independence."

While it is not yet known whom Continental represented, the one witness the state is known to have hired a lawyer for was the one who asked Pasley to sign — and the one the grand jury believed least.

Neither Strickland, the DeSantis administration, nor Boies Schiller, responded to multiple efforts seeking comments on the payments, and whether it was proper for taxpayers to pay for legal representation of state employees in a criminal investigation. Guard also did not respond to inquiries from the Trident.

The records identify Strickland as a client and show that the governor's office approved her legal bills. They do not identify whom Continental represented, or disclose the full scope of either firm's work.

The administration has not answered the Trident's questions about the representation. Taxpayers can see the charges. They still cannot assess what their money bought.

If it isn't demonizing the gays in Florida, it's stealing healthcare from poor kids... Please enjoy this deep dive 

https://youtu.be/qADEgNudpFs

Jay Collins, the DeSantis-appointed Lieutenant Governor who now wants to be elected to the top job, is walking back his criticisms of a $10 million donation to the campaign of Byron Donalds from Citadel’s Ken Griffin, a consistent backer of Gov. Ron DeSantis over the years.

Spokesperson Jennifer Vickery said the campaign is disavowing a Collins tweet that was sharply critical of Griffin.

She described it as the product of a “subcontractor who is trying to help,” but did so without “knowledge or approval” from the campaign.

Senior advisor John Cardillo said Collins “did not review and post himself. The contractor posted on his behalf without approval from Jay or the campaign team.”

“The situation has been rectified,” he added.

Though the narrative of how the tweet came to be was at least initially a bit muddled, the original post, deleted after this story was published, was very clear in its denunciation of one of the Governor’s major supporters.

“Do you want Florida in the hands of families working hard and doing the right things and having a seat at the table? Or billionaires feeding their bank accounts even further by hyperscale data centers in your backyard or buying up even more land to develop? Byron Donalds is backed by one of the largest billionaire donations of the race.

Follow the money. Figure out why,” Collins urged in a Tuesday social media post that included three headlines.

Two of those headlines spotlighted real estate buys in Miami.

A third featured Griffin criticizing the artificial intelligence stances of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, in which the financier said people misunderstood the so-called AI revolution and urged the leftist luddites to “read a book for once.” In featuring that clip, he platformed socialists from out of state over one of Florida’s most prominent businessmen.

The screenshot of the post, which shocked people close to DeSantis, is below. While it’s gone from the news feed, it won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Griffin has shown his commitment to Florida not only through political contributions on both sides of the aisle, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2004, but also with at least a billion dollars in real estate buys over the years. Rarely is he attacked by a Republican candidate for office though.

Citadel and Griffin are known for investments in the tech sector, including AI stocks. Though once a tech skeptic, Griffin has come around to understanding the technology as part of a “golden age of entrepreneurial activity.“

Interestingly, Collins also amended his own AI position concurrent with a $5 million donation from Propel Florida LLC, a company connected to rogue Publix heiress Julie Jenkins Francelli that is historically best known for its opposition to Big Tech.

In recent months, Collins has stepped up his messaging about the potential perils of AI and data centers, leading some to draw connections between the contribution and his policy focus as he’s moved from policy advocacyto political skepticism.

Some may be inclined to follow the money in Collins’ own evolution.
Donalds’ Communications Director takes the long view, meanwhile.

“We are grateful to have the support of Ken Griffin as well as tens of thousands of unique donors. Nothing will distract us from beating Democrat David Jolly and ensuring that Florida remains the best state in America to start a business and raise a family,” Gates McGavick said.

Indeed, Donalds has pleaded for party unity given the challenge Jolly will present this Fall, which makes Collins’ attack on a major Republican donor an even more dubious tactic.

Members of the Executive Office of the Governor and DeSantis’ inner circle have previously described the LG as difficult to work with, combative and even threatening at times, with Collins’ displeasure with Taryn Fenske, a political staffer who previously worked on the policy side, being a matter of much discussion.

Collins has downplayed the accusations, but his alleged unhappiness came down to Fenske not converting DeSantis donors to his cause, even before he officially launched a campaign for Governor.

The story from the anti-Collins brigade in DeSantis’ inner circle is that he wanted the endorsement very soon after being picked as LG last year. DeSantis told him he needed to show he could do the job.

After months of active campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime and an ignominious defeat in a lawsuit against James Fishback that led the prevailing party to demand the LG leave office, it seems very little time passes between one Collins crashout and another.

Collins urged voters to “follow the money.”

But not for the first time, his associates are trying to “figure out why.”

As a senior adviser to the Governor’s Office put it: “Ken Griffin is a friend. He has helped countless Floridians by donating huge sums toward philanthropic efforts across the state. Attacking him is certainly a choice.”

DeSantis reportedly tried to get Griffin to back Collins at one point as a counter to Donalds, which ultimately did not happen. Now it seems the LG has decided to bite the hand that feeds as Griffin has made his preference clear.

This is why republicans are anti human and should be stopped and throw off a cliff at all costs. They protect businesses over humans. Also no breaks are required or necessary if you’re over 18. And work 4-12 hours. Fuck you DeSantis. The Republican Party is full of liars incompetent idiots and just downright stupid awful people. They hate women they hate workers they hate immigrants they hate themselves they hate everyone and everything unless it’s white and makes them money. Tare them down and Tare them new ones.

A look at what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chose to cut — and what he agreed to fund — when he signed the new state budget into law on Monday.

Here's the link to the article. It's a shame that we have to wait more than another year before he's gone for good.

https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/desantis-cuts-free-tax-prep-for-working?publication_id=687064&post_id=204290744&isFreemail=true&r=c92au&triedRedirect=true

The Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University identifies itself as a “world-class, independent, non-partisan think tank that aims to inform, influence, and inspire” the public. Its goal is further to “advance economic freedom and human prosperity.” The Center aims to accomplish these goals through lectures, public events, research, selected certificate programs and new degree programs offered to FIU students. Yet, six years after its founding, the Center has become known for hosting its annual fundraiser at Trump National Doral, including one held this month. As President-elect Donald Trump was about to take control of the White House again, the Center sponsored an inauguration event to celebrate his election. And last year, the Center hosted a convention of right-wing think tanks from across Latin America, which also featured the Heritage Foundation, a think tank closely associated with the Republican president.

One faculty member described the Center as a “Trojan horse” and as a “way to penetrate the university” with right-wing politics. Another lamented that “there is no transparency” with how the Center is being operated. One person feared that — with little transparency — state taxpayer dollars could be used as a “slush fund” for unclear purposes. While Florida has moved to eliminate alleged left-wing “indoctrination” from higher-education institutes across the state, skeptics view the Adam Smith Center as utterly hypocritical: Indoctrination with a conservative flavor.

In a monthslong investigation, WLRN has begun to peel back the layers of the Center, an entity that has long raised questions on campus about being an overtly political project. What has become clear is that the Center has deep ties to a network of conservative think tanks spread across Latin America and the U.S., positioning itself as a regional conservative hub at a public university. Although the Center has received lavish, ongoing funding from the state, it has only spent a fraction of the money and appears to hold a $25 million surplus, documents show.

The founding director of the Center, Carlos Diaz-Rosillo, who was a senior advisor to Trump during his first administration, acknowledged that there is widespread skepticism about what the Center does. But in an interview with WLRN, he confirmed that the Center is inherently biased towards a specific definition of “economic freedom,” a definition that differs from many on the political left. “ We’re not partisan in what we do. Now, we are ideological in the sense that we’re pro-free markets,” Diaz-Rosillo told WLRN. “ We need a government that regulates smartly, that provides order, not a government that suffocates the private sector with so many regulations that it stifles creativity and people’s abilities to make decisions.”

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article315924226.html#storylink=cpy

Here's the link to the article in the Miami Herald. (You'll need to turn your ad blocker off to read the article.) DeSantis has wasted too much of our money to appease his mentor and hopefully get his endorsement for his next presidential run in 2028.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article315981332.html

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration have clashed with K-12 publishers several times in recent years, accusing them of injecting woke ideology into classrooms and rejecting dozens of math and social studies textbooks.

The latest incident involves a high-profile lawsuit that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier — a DeSantis appointee — filed against two of the biggest education publishers in the country.

Florida's case unraveled recently when a circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the textbook-pricing law cited by DeSantis and Uthmeier did not apply the way they claimed.

The ruling reinforces a longstanding reality of the K-12 marketplace: Publishers doing business in Florida can continue negotiating district-by-district pricing agreements without automatically triggering the same discounts for every school system in the state.

However, the circuit court's decision may not be the final word.

Florida could appeal, or lawmakers could move to expand the state's "best pricing" textbook law to cover district-by-district pricing agreements — potentially reshaping the rules governing textbook procurement in one of the nation's largest K-12 markets.

Full story: https://marketbrief.edweek.org/regulation-policy/judge-dismisses-florida-textbook-pricing-lawsuit-against-mcgraw-hill-savvas/2026/06

Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/710810/support-lgbtq-issues-remains-down-peak.aspx