File this one under “You can’t make this s$%t up”: It was revealed this week that Florida Republicans in Tallahassee have been pushing a bill to spend $5 million of taxpayers’ money to help pay Trump’s legal bill. The only think that seems to have stalled the bill’s momentum is that DeSantis came out publicly yesterday to say he was against the bill.
State Sen. Ileana Garcia (R) from Miami filed the bill, entitled “Grants for Victims of Political Discrimination,” that, while not mentioning Trump by name, seemed to be designed specifically to help Trump. The bill proposed the creation of a “Freedom Fighters Fund” that would provide up to $5 million in “financial support to Florida residents running for President who face legal, partisan, political attacks by the Department of Justice or State Attorneys.” Hmm, who could they be referring to?
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, who is a member of the governor’s cabinet, was the initial promoter of the bill, and once again came out publicly in support of the bill just yesterday.
“It’s in Florida’s best interest to make sure their champion for the President is allowed a fair shot at the White House without being taken down by some fake witch hunt,” Patronis said Monday.
But the bill hit an odd little snag later on Monday:
But DeSantis’s campaign account on X, the site formerly known Twitter, quickly chimed in, sharing a story from Politico with the headline, “Some Florida Republicans want taxpayers to pay Trump’s legal bills,” and making his position clear.
“But not the Florida Republican who wields the veto pen,” he quipped.
By Monday evening Garcia slinked away and said she would be withdrawing her support for the bill. She tried to CYA by claiming that the bill was never meant to be just about Trump. She said she introduced the bill on Jan. 5 when there was a “crowded primary” that included two Florida residents. However, as far as I know DeSantis has never faced any legal problems involving the DOJ or State Attorneys, and Patronis continued to promote the bill a day AFTER DeSantis had dropped out.
I haven’t quite figured out why DeSantis came out against this bill. He certainly doesn’t have any problem wasting Florida taxpayers’ money on partisan, politically motivated GOP pet projects. Maybe he’s just pissed at Trump. Or maybe he’s pissed at Patronis, who seems to clearly be a Trump supporter and was one of the first elected officials in Florida to quickly kiss Trump’s ring after DeSantis dropped out.
Anyway, I’ll end with Nikki Fried appropriately blasting the Florida GOP for this ridiculous bill:
Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, blasted Republicans for pushing the bill instead of working on other issues such as the state’s ongoing affordability problems, including the property insurance crisis.
“What this shows you is who the Florida GOP is loyal to because it’s certainly not the people of Florida,” Fried said in a text message. “Senator Garcia’s victim-card bill is a disgrace and should inflame any Floridian who cares about where their tax dollars are going.”