Ron DeSantis just got stabbed in the back by one of his own appointees.
This official is already under fire for mismanagement and may have checked out of his current job.
And Donald Trump stunned Ron DeSantis when he tapped this scandal-plagued official for a high-level position.
Florida agency head nominated for Homeland Security post while under legislative scrutiny
President Donald Trump has nominated Pedro Allende, the current Secretary of Florida’s Department of Management Services (DMS), to serve as Under Secretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security.
The nomination came on May 6th according to Congress.gov, with the appointment now awaiting a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Operations Committee.
What makes this nomination particularly stunning is that Allende is currently in hot water with Florida state legislators who are investigating his performance at the billion-dollar state agency.
Republican State Representative Vicki Lopez, chair of the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee, has been leading investigations into questionable spending and loose oversight at DMS under Allende’s leadership.
“I don’t know how the appointment impacts the situation [at DMS],” Lopez said when asked about the nomination. “It makes me feel like he’s checked out.”
The timing couldn’t be more suspicious.Â
Allende faces serious accountability issues, including a damning January report from the state Auditor General that found he couldn’t account for 2,200 missing vehicles valued at $57 million from the state’s fleet.
And that’s not all.
Lawmakers withheld Allende’s $210,000 salary over performance issues
Allende’s problems have been mounting for months.Â
When questioned by lawmakers about the agency’s failings, the DMS head provided what Representative Lopez described as “very convoluted” answers.
During legislative hearings, Allende failed to clearly answer questions about an unsigned employee services contract, the abrupt cancellation of an office space lease in the state Capitol, and a data collection project that’s approximately three years overdue.
The Florida Trident also reported that Allende hired four high-ranking employees who don’t even live in Florida, charging taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for their commuting costs to Tallahassee.
When pressed on the matter, Allende admitted that he also doesn’t live in the state capital, instead commuting from Miami at taxpayer expense.
In March, these issues were so serious that Lopez recommended Allende’s $210,000 salary be withheld until he could properly address the outstanding problems.
“Not a dime will be replaced or released until he can answer these basic questions,” Lopez declared at the time.
House Budget Committee Chairman Lawrence McClure later joined the effort, requesting numerous records from DMS and giving Allende until May 16, 2025, to comply.
According to Lopez, those records have still not been provided.
 “I don’t expect him to answer,” she said. “I think his priority is to get out of town.”
DeSantis appointee who endorsed Trump now rewarded with federal position
In an ironic twist, Allende was originally appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to head DMS in June of 2022.
Allende, an attorney who previously worked for several federal agencies, including Homeland Security during Trump’s first administration, later joined more than 100 other Trump administration veterans to support DeSantis over Trump in the 2024 presidential race.
These former Trump officials, including current Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, had backed DeSantis’s failed presidential bid against Trump.
Now, despite his troubled tenure running a state agency and his previous support for DeSantis, Allende has been tapped by Trump for a prestigious federal position under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
DMS did not respond to requests for comment on the Trump nomination or the outstanding legislative demands for information.
This nomination raises serious questions given Allende’s concerning track record of mismanagement and lack of accountability in his current role.
