Governor Ron DeSantis announced Friday the state returned more than $878 million in taxpayer funds to the federal government, a move that has been in the works for the past few years during the Biden administration.
The decision follows a meeting between DeSantis, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, and officials from the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Florida’s Move to Return Taxpayer Funds
DeSantis’ office formally notified the U.S. Treasury Department that $878,112,000 in federal funds would be returned.
“For years, Florida has been trying to return federal funds to the federal government due to the ideological strings attached by the Biden Administration — but they couldn’t even figure out how to accept it,” DeSantis wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.
In its communication with the Treasury Department, the governor’s office indicated plans to identify additional excess federal funds for potential return.
Musk responded to DeSantis’ post on X, supporting the state’s efforts.
Florida’s DOGE Task Force
Last month, DeSantis announced the formation of the Florida DOGE task force, designed to “further eliminate waste within state government, save taxpayers money, and ensure accountability in Florida.”
Florida’s DOGE will focus on:
- Eliminating bureaucracy
- Reviewing colleges and universities
- Further examining state agencies
- Auditing local governments
- Returning unused and surplus federal funds