Ron DeSantis accepted a prestigious conservative award with his wife at an elite Palm Beach resort.
But the celebration couldn't hide an ugly reality.
And Ron DeSantis made one troubling admission that dropped jaws across Florida.
DeSantis accepts conservative award while grand jury investigates Hope Florida
National Review honored Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis with the William F. Buckley Jr. Prize for Leadership in Political Thought at a ceremony at the Breakers in Palm Beach on Wednesday.¹
The award recognizes conservative leaders who shaped the nation through their commitment to advancing free society principles.
"The First Lady and I are honored to receive this year's William F. Buckley Jr. Prize for Leadership in Political Thought," DeSantis said. "Together, we have fought against COVID authoritarianism, left-wing indoctrination, and anti-free market policies to make Florida prosperous and free."²
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1986473824544530467
But the celebration came as a Tallahassee grand jury investigates $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement that ended up funding the defeat of Florida's marijuana legalization amendment.³
The money flowed from the Medicaid settlement through the Hope Florida Foundation, Casey DeSantis's signature initiative, to political committees opposing Amendment 3.⁴
Republican State Representative Alex Andrade led a House investigation that accused Attorney General James Uthmeier of money laundering and wire fraud.⁵
"Based on the information I have, I'm confident James Uthmeier committed money laundering and wire fraud," Andrade stated.⁶
The First Lady defended Hope Florida during the ceremony, calling it a "really magical thing, which I think is a model for the nation."⁷
She didn't mention the grand jury probe.
Governor admits fighting "like hell" to use Medicaid money politically
Governor DeSantis revealed the real motivation behind the spending during his acceptance speech.
He conceded that most Floridians disagreed with his positions on restricting cannabis and reproductive rights.
But DeSantis called the abortion and marijuana measures the "two most expensive initiatives in the history of the American Republic."⁸
"Amendment 3, which was a constitutional right to smoke weed wherever you want, and Amendment 4, which was abortion-till-birth and allowed abortions to be performed by non-physicians … if those would have passed, that would obviously have changed the underlying dynamics in the state, and ultimately would have turned Florida purple and then blue," DeSantis explained.⁹
Then came the jaw-dropping admission.
"So as Governor, I didn't have a formal role in it. But I fought like hell to be able to do it because I'm thinking to myself, 'what good is it to go through this, win elections, do the policy, if they can just do (George) Soros' agenda through the back door with these initiatives?'" DeSantis added.¹⁰
The Governor just admitted he fought to redirect Medicaid settlement money away from healthcare for economically marginalized Floridians to defeat ballot initiatives he opposed.
Both amendments received majority support from voters but failed to reach the 60% threshold required for passage in Florida.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1974141605893583171
Amendment 3 received 55% support while Amendment 4 got 57% approval.¹¹
The DeSantis administration spent an estimated $19.3 million in taxpayer funds across multiple state agencies opposing the amendments.¹²
Follow the money from Medicaid settlement to political committees
State records show the $10 million from the $67 million Centene Medicaid settlement went to the Hope Florida Foundation in late 2024, just weeks before the November election.¹³
The foundation then made two $5 million grants to nonprofits Save Our Society From Drugs and Secure Florida's Future.¹⁴
Text messages obtained by the Miami Herald show Uthmeier, then DeSantis's Chief of Staff, coordinated with Save Our Society From Drugs executive director Amy Ronshausen about the grant.¹⁵
Hope Florida Foundation attorney Jeff Aaron told Ronshausen to model her grant application after Secure Florida's Future and followed up to confirm she received the wire transfer.¹⁶
Ronshausen received $5 million on October 22, 2024.¹⁷
Her organization donated $4.75 million to Uthmeier's Keep Florida Clean committee on October 23, 24, and 28.¹⁸
Keep Florida Clean spent the money fighting Amendment 3.
Ronshausen was suspended from her position in April over the $5 million grant.¹⁹
Uthmeier, who DeSantis appointed Attorney General after he left the Chief of Staff position, has denied wrongdoing.
"You've got an independent foundation that's got its own board. It's a not-for-profit, and it made its own decision to give generous support to other not-for-profits," Uthmeier said. "That's totally fine. There's nothing wrong with that."²⁰
https://twitter.com/JudicialScams/status/1919144399755153505
DeSantis sees himself and his movement in eclipse
Money from Medicaid settlements is highly regulated because it's meant to compensate states for healthcare costs.
Using settlement money intended for health services to fund political campaigns crosses every ethical line.
The grand jury testimony from key figures including Andrade and nonprofit leaders suggests prosecutors view this as more than just questionable accounting.
This is about whether DeSantis administration officials broke the law by laundering Medicaid settlement money through charitable foundations to fund political operations.
DeSantis seemed to understand his movement was losing steam during the ceremony.
"I see some of the stuff that goes on now in the right-wing echo chamber, and it brings to mind an old adage that all great causes start as a movement, transform as a business, and ultimately degenerate as a racket," DeSantis said. "I think we're in the racket phase of a lot of what's going on in the Right."²¹
The Governor who bragged about using state agencies to defeat citizen-led ballot initiatives is now calling the conservative movement a racket.
That's rich coming from someone whose administration is under criminal investigation for exactly that kind of political gamesmanship.
National Review's decision to honor DeSantis with an award named after William F. Buckley Jr. looks worse by the day as the grand jury investigation unfolds.
Buckley built the modern conservative movement on intellectual principles and civil debate.
DeSantis is building his legacy on redirecting healthcare money to political slush funds.
¹ A.G. Gancarski, "Accepting a conservative leadership award, Ron and Casey DeSantis defend Hope Florida," Florida Politics, November 6, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Inside the grand jury probe of the Hope Florida Foundation, WUSF, October 24, 2025.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Grand jury to review $10 million Medicaid diversion in Hope Florida controversy, WEAR TV, October 2025.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ A.G. Gancarski, "Accepting a conservative leadership award, Ron and Casey DeSantis defend Hope Florida," Florida Politics, November 6, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Abortion, marijuana amendment failures boost DeSantis' political clout, Tampa Bay Times, November 6, 2024.
¹² Inside Ron DeSantis's Quest to Trample the Will of Florida Voters on Abortion, The Intercept, October 29, 2024.
¹³ Hope Florida grand jury begins work as nonprofit leader, state rep appear, Florida Courier, October 2025.
¹⁴ – ¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Grand jury reportedly meeting this week in Hope Florida investigation, WPTV, October 2025.
²¹ A.G. Gancarski, "Accepting a conservative leadership award, Ron and Casey DeSantis defend Hope Florida," Florida Politics, November 6, 2025.
