Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested that he would not support legislation in his state that would make taxpayers pay for former President Donald Trump’s legal bills.
Politico published a social media post that said, “Some Florida Republicans want taxpayers to pay Trump’s legal bills,” to which DeSantis responded, “But not the Florida Republican who wields the veto pen...”
The report noted the measure that “some Florida Republicans” are backing would give as much as $5 million to Trump and that the legislation had received an endorsement from the state’s chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis.
The bill would have been named “Grants for Victims of Political Discrimination,” with the aim to create a fund that would provide financial aid to Florida residents that are making a White House presidential run that “face legal, partisan, political attacks by the Department of Justice or state attorneys,” Patronis said, according to Newsweek.
Along with DeSantis, state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who also endorsed Trump’s bid for the 2024 presidential election, responded to the X post, saying she would withdraw the bill.
“The bill was filed on January 5th amidst a crowded primary, including two Florida residents,” Garcia stated in reference to both DeSantis and Trump.
“My concern was the political weaponization against conservative candidates, and while (Florida Chief Financial Officer) @JimmyPatronis 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,” Garcia continued. “I will be withdrawing the bill.”
The Hill reported that DeSantis’s threat to veto the legislation comes as Trump currently faces 91 criminal charges, “including one federal case related to his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.”
Did DeSantis pull his endorsement of Trump?
Despite the response to the Politico report, DeSantis’s endorsement of Trump for the 2024 election remains intact.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said in his announcement of suspending his campaign on Sunday. “He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, or repackage formed of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
Garcia, who also expressed her decision to withdraw the bill, has continued to express her support of Trump’s presidential bid.
In an X post, Garcia is photographed beside Trump, with the caption saying, “Bring it on!”