TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — At least twice over the past year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top government staffers have helped him directly raise campaign contributions, a practice members of his own political party want to end.
A proposal championed by Republicans in the state House would bar state employees — those who work for the governor or otherwise — from conducting most traditional campaign-type activities during working hours, including soliciting campaign contributions.
The legislation was introduced last week after NBC News first reported last month that two top staffers in the governor’s office were calling state lobbyists to raise money for a DeSantis-aligned political committee that would almost certainly help his wife, Casey, run for governor if she jumped in the race, as she has suggested she is considering.
In addition, NBC News reported last year that several top DeSantis administration officials were trying to raise political cash for his failed presidential campaign.
“You cannot solicit funds, you cannot be engaged in the political campaign fundraising process,” Republican state Rep. Debbie Mayfield said at a House committee meeting last week.
She did not specifically mention DeSantis, who could veto the bill if it passes the Legislature.
DeSantis’ political machine has quietly been testing the waters for a potential Casey DeSantis bid for governor against Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who is endorsed by President Donald Trump and has quickly raised more than $5 million for his campaign.
DeSantis’ office did not reply to a request for comment about the proposal.
Under the proposal, someone in violation could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor.
It’s another snapshot of DeSantis’ vastly changing political reality.
Since he took office in 2019, DeSantis has enjoyed a compliant Republican-dominated Legislature that was eager to help him build a profile to run for president. But he now faces a multifront attack from Republican lawmakers, who are pushing proposals that would erode the governor’s authority, and others who would investigate past administration decisions.
The tension with Republican lawmakers started in January, when they fought a DeSantis-led immigration proposal that was designed to align state law with a wave of immigration-related executive orders Trump signed shortly after he took office.
Republicans in the state House are also pushing to investigate $10 million Florida received as part of a settlement with one of its biggest Medicaid operators. The cash, The Miami Herald reported, went to a Casey DeSantis-run charity called the Hope Florida Foundation.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that weeks after it received the money, Hope Florida sent $5 million each to two organizations, which then sent millions to a political action committee fighting to defeat a pro-marijuana amendment.
The move raised questions about using state cash for overtly political reasons, helping a cause DeSantis championed. Critics said it’s an impermissible use of state money from a Medicaid settlement for political purposes.
The DeSantis administration has denied that the money went to the 2024 political fight or any other wrongdoing.
State House Speaker Danny Perez, R-Miami, said his chamber will investigate the matter, an effort that could include the House’s subpoenaing records from Hope Florida.
The fight has been seen politically through the lens of the 2026 governor’s race, with Donalds’ supporters — who include some of Trump’s most loyal backers — using the issue to attack both Ron and Casey DeSantis.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist and vocal Trump supporter, has been leading the charge, posting on social media several times about the Hope Florida fight.
“Corrupt Casey,” she posted Saturday to her 1.6 million followers.
