How Hope Florida scrutiny rattled the final years of the DeSantis administration

The fallout from the Hope Florida scandal, which was reignited last month after a grand jury report leaked to the public, has been far-reaching. When the state launched Hope Florida in 2021, it was meant to wean people off of government assistance. But in 2024, the organization and an affiliated foundation became enmeshed in one of the state's fiercest political battles. The state in 2024 directed the Medicaid company Centene to give $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation as part of a settlement over claims of overbilling. Most of that money ultimately landed in a political committee focused on defeating a recreational marijuana proposal. The committee was controlled by Gov. Ron DeSantis' then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier. The revelation of the money from the Medicaid settlement triggered legislative inquiries, multiple resignations and a grand jury investigation, and likely delayed jobs and crushed political dreams. And a later Herald/Times investigation found the $10 million was just part of the state's spending; reporters found the state spent about $35 million in taxpayer money on advertisements against two amendments DeSantis opposed. Here are the biggest impacts. Grand jury investigation Questions about the movement of money through the Hope Florida Foundation piqued the interest of Leon County's state attorney, who convened a grand jury last year. In October, the grand jury heard from witnesses, including high-ranking government staffers. The jury completed its report in January, but the state's laws protected it from immediate public release. Any person named in the report can request it remain secret. The grand jury didn't charge anyone criminally – largely because it said no one interviewed would take accountability for who decided to make the $10 million transfer to Hope Florida. But the jury said it could 'plainly see that taxpayer money was misused for political purposes.' Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized the DeSantis administration over the findings in the grand jury's report. Lawmakers are eyeing potential legislative changes, and some legislators have called for impeachment hearings for Uthmeier. Florida House investigation Before the grand jury convened, the Florida House undertook its own probe, headed by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola. Andrade, the chairman of the House Health Care Budget subcommittee, has said he believed that Uthmeier and Jeff Aaron, the Hope Florida Foundation's attorney, committed criminal acts. (Andrade was later interviewed by the grand jury, according to the report.) The hearings brought more attention to the questions surrounding Hope Florida; DeSantis' staff repeatedly attacked Andrade over his role in the probe. During the House hearings, Andrade grilled people involved in the money transfer, including Joshua Hay, the foundation's then-chairman. Hay acknowledged that 'mistakes were made,' pointing to reporting that showed the charity didn't keep minutes, have a budget or file tax returns. Andrade's committee also interviewed the head of the Department of Children and Families and the head of the Agency for Health Care Administration. Job nominations stalled Fallout from the Hope Florida scandal delayed several high-powered appointees from getting confirmed. Last year, President Donald Trump nominated John Guard, Florida's then-chief deputy attorney general, for a judgeship in Florida's Middle District. But his nomination languished. Guard, who signed the Centene settlement that included sending $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation, was interviewed by the grand jury about his role in the process as he awaited confirmation. Guard told the grand jury that Moody had authorized him to sign the settlement. Axios reported that the Trump administration put the brakes on Guard's nomination as it tried to avoid the drama around the grand jury investigation. DeSantis in January this year appointed Guard to be an appellate judge on the state 2nd District Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, the Florida Senate in 2025 didn't take up confirmations for two of DeSantis' agency heads that had been involved with Hope Florida. Sen. Don Gaetz, who led the committee tasked with confirming the governor's appointees, said the committee ran out of time for a proper screening of Department of Children and Families secretary Taylor Hatch and Agency for Health Care Administration secretary Shevaun Harris. Gaetz said the committee's decision wasn't directly related to Hope Florida, but rather larger issues about the committees. Both Harris and Hatch were confirmed this year. Casey DeSantis' political future Hope Florida may have dampened any aspirations from the first lady to succeed her husband as governor. In early 2025, DeSantis hinted that he might like to see his wife in his place when he leaves office. When DeSantis shot down Trump's pick for Florida's next governor, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, he instead touted the first lady, saying she would do better than him in an election. Top donors at the time were reportedly urging Casey DeSantis to enter the race. But Hope Florida was Casey DeSantis' signature initiative. And as the Florida House investigated, what could have been her main campaign platform became toxic. During the House's inquiry, DeSantis suggested that Republicans were probing Hope Florida because the first lady may run for governor. 'A lot of people feel threatened by the first lady. Let's just be clear about that,' the governor said last year. Ultimately, the first lady did not run. Donalds is now the GOP's nominee, endorsed by DeSantis after winning the Republican primary. Hope Florida Foundation resignations and turnover Since the Hope Florida scandal began last year, nearly all members of the Hope Florida Foundation's board have been replaced. The Department of Children and Families in September 2025 opted against renewing Hay as board president, and also declined to renew the terms of two other board members. Both had asked for more information on the legality of the $10 million transfer during a previous board meeting. Meanwhile, Hope Florida's executive director, Erik Dellenback, resigned in April 2025 to take another job. Save Our Society from Drugs, one of the groups that received a grant from Hope Florida and later sent it to Uthmeier's political committee, also saw fallout. The board chairman resigned in 2025, saying the group did not inform the board about the money. Hope Florida shrinks Lawmakers, skeptical of the mission they had been funding, began to shrink Hope Florida's resources. DeSantis' administration also pulled back on asking for money. In 2025, legislative leaders agreed not to fund a call line for the Hope Florida program and did not fund four new positions in the governor's office to create a Hope Florida office. DeSantis' administration also dropped its attempts to increase Hope Florida's scale in state government. Heading into the 2026 session, no state agency asked for more money for Hope Florida initiatives. That was the first time state agencies hadn't asked for more funding since the project launched in 2021.