TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis has been on a spending spree for months, taking credit for millions of dollars in federal stimulus money he’s handing out to mostly rural Republican counties while at the same time bashing President Joe Biden’s big government spending.
Federal bucks have bolstered the state budget for two years in a row, shoring up the state’s reserves, and funding such things as the governor’s job growth program, climate “resiliency” against rising waters, road projects, broadband expansion, college training programs and tax cuts.
“I think it’s hypocritical,” said Ben Wilcox, research director for Tallahassee-based government watchdog group Integrity Florida. “He’s taking credit for something that’s not really his to claim credit for.”
