BRANDON, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and first lady Casey DeSantis held a roundtable Wednesday morning at a church in Brandon.
Speaking at ARISE Church, the governor and his wife again praised Hope Florida, the initiative spearheaded by Casey DeSantis and implemented by the Florida Department of Children and Families which bills itself as a care portal connecting the needy to resources via volunteer groups, businesses and faith-based organizations as a means of transitioning off government assistance.
“A state-based Help Florida model would go a really long way to reduce, our really voluminous, unsustainable (federal) debt and deficit while at the same time legitimately helping people, which is the ultimate goal. So for me, it’s just really disheartening and very sad, but not surprising, to see these slanderous false accusations hurled at Hope Florida in an attempt really to undermine all of the meaningful progress that we’ve made on behalf of so many families across the state of Florida, and to undermine the tireless hard work of so many people who have answered the call to help,” Casey DeSantis said, responding in part to scrutiny of whether the Hope Florida Foundation’s recent receipt of a $10 million donation was part of a larger legal settlement meant for Medicaid.
Watch the roundtable again in the video player below or by clicking here.