Ron DeSantis has a problem on his hands he can't fix by firing people or calling a press conference.
His wife's political future just hit a wall.
And Ron DeSantis made one desperate move that has his wife Casey fuming.
Ron DeSantis scrambles to distance Casey from criminal investigation
Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference Thursday trying to do damage control on what's become the biggest scandal of his time in office.
A grand jury is investigating whether $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement got funneled through Casey DeSantis' Hope Florida charity into political committees fighting the marijuana legalization amendment.
Ron DeSantis spent the event repeatedly insisting his wife had nothing to do with Hope Florida.
"People would try to say that somehow she has a charity — she does not have a charity," DeSantis claimed.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2019042587701858353?s=20
Casey DeSantis' signature appears on ceremonial checks cut from the Hope Florida Foundation.
News releases repeatedly credit her for awarding the money.
She was the public face of Hope Florida for years before this scandal erupted.
Now Ron DeSantis wants everyone to believe she was just along for the ride.
"She wasn't involved in anything that they were alleging," DeSantis said when asked if his wife had been called to testify.
The money trail leads straight to DeSantis' inner circle
$10 million from a Medicaid settlement with Centene Corporation ended up going to Hope Florida Foundation in September 2024.
The foundation quickly gave $5 million each to two dark money groups.
Those groups then funneled $8.5 million to a political committee controlled by James Uthmeier, Ron DeSantis' chief of staff at the time.
Uthmeier was running the governor's campaign to defeat the marijuana amendment.
After the marijuana amendment failed, DeSantis rewarded Uthmeier by appointing him Attorney General.
Republican State Representative Alex Andrade investigated the money trail and called it a potential "conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud."
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2019236164260229448?s=20
The Florida House investigation ground to a halt when the DeSantis administration stopped cooperating.
That's when Democrat State Attorney Jack Campbell impaneled a grand jury.
Multiple witnesses have testified behind closed doors since October.
When asked Wednesday if he'd received a grand jury presentment, Attorney General Uthmeier refused to answer directly.
"I'm not sure what I'm allowed to say publicly or not on that," Uthmeier said.
That's not the response of someone who has nothing to hide.
Casey DeSantis' political ambitions are crashing and burning
Casey DeSantis had been quietly preparing for a run at governor in 2026.
Polls earlier this year showed her leading the Republican field or in a statistical tie with Congressman Byron Donalds.
That was before the Hope Florida scandal exploded.
Casey DeSantis went into hiding after the criminal investigation launched, making just seven public appearances between April and December.
No fundraising outreach, no donor meetings, no campaign infrastructure.
Now she's trying to rebrand herself with a new initiative called Healthy Florida First, testing everyday foods for toxins.
She's been doing Fox News appearances after months out of the spotlight.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2019042587701858353?s=20
But the damage is done.
Byron Donalds has Trump's endorsement and more than $50 million in the bank.
The most recent polling shows Donalds crushing Casey DeSantis 68% to 10% when voters know Trump backs him.
Political science professor Sean Freeder at the University of North Florida explained the problem Casey faces.
"As soon as she decides to run, he's going to pound advertisements talking about Hope Florida," Freeder said about Donalds.
Roughly two-thirds of Republican voters didn't know about the Hope Florida scandal when polled over the summer.
That makes it easy pickings for Donalds to define Casey DeSantis through millions of dollars in attack ads.
Ron DeSantis keeps insisting the investigation is a "hoax" and claiming total exoneration.
The problem is the Democrat state attorney conducting the investigation says it's still ongoing.
And Casey DeSantis won't answer questions about whether she's running for governor.
Ron DeSantis tried to build a conservative dynasty in Florida by positioning his wife to succeed him.
Instead, the Hope Florida scandal just torched those plans.
Sources:
- Alexandra Glorioso, "Gov. DeSantis distances first lady from Hope Florida Foundation," Tampa Bay Times, February 5, 2026.
- Alexandra Glorioso, "Casey DeSantis returns to the spotlight. Is a campaign in the cards?" Yahoo News, February 8, 2026.
- Lawrence Mower, "Hope Florida grand jury likely probing alleged financial crimes," Orlando Sentinel, October 22, 2025.
- Michael Binder et al., "Survey shows Florida Republicans leading Democrats in top 2026 races by double digits," Florida Phoenix, October 28, 2025.
- "Hope Florida scandal," Wikipedia, December 30, 2025.
