Florida governor: school districts that defied no-mask mandate to lose $200m

Governor Ron DeSantis initially signalled opposition to the budget bill in Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature but backtracked last week. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, is backing a controversial proposal to strip $200m in education funding from Democratic counties that defied his executive order last year banning mask mandates in schools.

DeSantis, who is widely seen as a leading heir to Donald Trump in the Republican party, plans to send the money instead to mostly Republican counties that supported him.