DeSantis Shuts Down Republican-Led Effort to Get Florida to Pay Trump’s Legal Bills
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shut down a Republican-led effort to pay for former President Donald Trump’s legal bills on Monday, just one day after he dropped out of the Republican primary and endorsed Trump for president.
Reacting on Monday to an effort led by Florida State Sen. Ileana Garcia to allocate up to $5 million of taxpayer money towards Trump’s legal bills, DeSantis quickly shot down the idea.
After Politico published an article titled, “Some Florida Republicans want taxpayers to pay Trump’s legal bills,” DeSantis responded, “But not the Florida Republican who wields the veto pen…”
In a statement, Garcia – who represents Miami-Dade – had argued, “Having a Floridian in the White House is good for our state — and anything we can do to support Florida Presidential candidates, like President Trump, will not only benefit our state, but our nation.”
According to Politico, the effort was endorsed by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.
After DeSantis condemned the effort on social media, Garcia announced she would be withdrawing her bill.
“This bill was filed on January 5th amidst a crowded primary, including two Florida residents,” she declared. “My concern was the political weaponization against conservative candidates, and while (Patronis) brought me this bill at a time when all candidates were committing to campaign through the primary, one frontrunner now remains, and he can handle himself. I will be withdrawing the bill. SB 1740.”
Trump is currently fighting four separate legal cases: state charges in New York for allegedly falsifying business records, federal charges over his retention and handling of government documents, and two separate indictments – one federal and one state – relating to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
DeSantis announced the suspension of his presidential campaign on Sunday, just days before the New Hampshire primary, and endorsed Trump over his rival Nikki Haley.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” said DeSantis. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”
He continued, “While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear.”
Trump thanked DeSantis for endorsing him and praised his campaign, though stated that it was “highly unlikely” the Florida governor would have any role in his administration.
“I think it’s highly unlikely,” said Trump. “I have a lot of great people, and I have great people that have been with me right from the beginning.”
