Florida
Florida allies back down on $5 million in state funds for Trump's legal bills after DeSantis threatens to veto
One of Florida’s highest-profile billionaires will no longer get state funds to help pay his legal fees, as a newly proposed bill from his allies unraveled on Monday.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump this month introduced a bill in Florida that would establish the “Florida Freedom Fighters Fund” for “victims of political discrimination,” which, if passed, would allow the state’s Department of Financial Services to disperse up to $5 million to eligible politicians from the state’s public campaign-matching funds program to pay legal bills.
The proposal was introduced on January 5 by Florida State Sen. Ileana Garcia and had the support of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — who endorsed Trump less than an hour after DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday, per Bloomberg.
Late Monday night, the plan publicly fell apart as Gov. Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump over the weekend, signaled on X that he’d veto the bill.
Garcia responded to the Florida governor, saying she would withdraw the bill and that Trump can “handle himself.”
“My concern was the political weaponization against conservative candidates, and while @JimmyPatronis brought me this bill at a time when all candidates were committing to campaign through the primary, one frontrunner now remains, and he can handle himself,” Garcia wrote in her post. “I will be withdrawing the bill.”
Representatives for Garcia and Patronis did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
This bill was filed on January 5th amidst a crowded primary, including two Florida residents.
My concern was the political weaponization against conservative candidates, and while @JimmyPatronis brought me this bill at a time when all candidates were committing to campaign… https://t.co/wieqYQ8Woq
— Ileana Garcia (@IleanaGarciaUSA) January 23, 2024
Just 12 hours earlier, the pair had proudly announced the bill as a way to “put freedom, justice, and her constituents first.”
“We’ve got a Florida Man — Donald Trump — running for president, and he’s facing ongoing legal challenges from Democrats in New York, Washington, DC, and Atlanta,” Patronis said in a statement released Monday morning supporting the bill.
“We need this Freedom Fighters Fund because, as the Free State of Florida, we’re facing an onslaught of attacks from the federal government against the Sunshine State,” the statement continued. “If we can help and support a Florida candidate for the White House, that’s just good from a dollars and cents perspective.”
The campaign-matching funds program is Florida’s way of attempting to even the political playing field, offering matching funds from the state’s general budget for eligible candidates running for state offices who receive individual donations of $250 or less. In 2022, the state spent $13.015 million in matching funds given out to candidates, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, per the Citrus County Chronicle. Florida’s state budget is largely driven by property taxes.
The new bill would modify the existing restrictions on releasing state funds to eligible presidential candidates who live in Florida.
Payments for candidates’ legal fees through the fund would be replenished by voluntary taxpayer donations collected through driver’s license registrations.
According to the bill text, the Department of Financial Services, led by Patronis, would be granted the “sole authority” to determine if a politician has been subject to political discrimination.
Trump, who was mentioned by Patronis as a reason for the proposed $5 million fund, is worth an estimated $2.6 billion, per Forbes.
The former president is battling 91 charges across the four criminal cases against him and multiple civil lawsuits. He claimed late last year that he has racked up $100 million in legal fees, The Hill reported.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Gulf system to bring downpours to Florida
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber is continuing to watch an area in the Gulf that is expected to bring much-needed rain to Florida this weekend. He said the system will likely drift to the north and northwest and will linger before heading to the northeast. He said to get a tropical depression, or a tropical storm there needs to be winds and a closed low and he is not seeing that in the models yet. Weber is also tracking a system off the coast of Africa that has a 10% chance of developing over the next week. He says it will likely enter a hostile environment and dissipate.
TAMPA, Fla. – Forecasters are tracking a broad disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast that could bring much-needed rain to parched communities this weekend.
Gulf tropical development potential
What we know:
Models continue to indicate there is a potential for an area of low pressure to form over the northeast Gulf off the west coast of Florida over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center says an area in the Gulf has a 30% chance of tropical development over the next seven days.
Models a shifting away from the forecast of the system moving over the state and off the coast of the Carolinas. Models are now indicating a more likely scenario that it lingers in the Gulf over the weekend and may drift more to the northwest near the Florida Panhandle or Louisiana coast. Early next week conditions look like they will become less conducive and may prohibit much development. Regardless of whether it organizes, the system will bring tropical downpours and increased moisture across Florida and parts of the Southeast.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber states we are close to 7.50″ below average on our rainfall in Tampa for the year. A weak area of low pressure or tropical system can be beneficial in helping to make up for the rainfall deficit we have been experiencing. Drought conditions continue over much of the state of Florida. If this system ends up drifting more westward, it would limit the total amount of rainfall and the highest totals would be along the immediate west coast.
Atlantic tropical development potential
A tropical wave southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands remains disorganized.
It is moving west-northwest and, according to the NHC, there is a chance for slow development over the next day or two. By the weekend it is expected to move into less conducive conditions and Saharan dust will begin to affect this wave, limiting its moisture. The time for this system to develop is very limited and will not develop after the weekend.
The NHC is giving it a 10% chance of developing.
Weather factors and storm names
What we don’t know:
Officials cannot yet confirm if the disturbance will overcome environmental hurdles like land interaction, wind shear and dry air. Computer models remain uncertain on how much this system will develop over the waters of the Gulf. If it stays over the warm waters of the Gulf longer, it may give it additional time to organize. Interactions with land and wind shear will likely pose obstacles in further development.
To become a tropical system, it must develop a defined circulation with organized thunderstorms. If it reaches maximum sustained winds of 39 mph, it will become a tropical storm and be named Bertha.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13Meteorologist Jim Weber, the National Hurricane Center tropical weather outlooks, as well as forecast computer models.
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – If you felt shaking along Florida’s east coast on Thursday, you’re not alone. But it wasn’t an earthquake.
A strong “experimental explosion” was reported in the waters off Central Florida on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS website indicates that the explosion happened around 3:04 p.m., roughly 91 miles east-northeast of Ponce Inlet.
Per the agency, the event registered a preliminary magnitude of 3.9. However, few other details about what may have caused the explosion have been provided at this time.
“The recorded ground motions from this event are more typical of an explosion than a naturally occurring earthquake,” the USGS website reads. “The Navy has conducted Full Ship Shock Trials in this region in the past.”
[A LOOK BACK: U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford performs shock trials on an aircraft carrier in 2021]
News 6 has reached out to Navy officials for more information and is awaiting additional details.
Anyone who felt the impact of the explosion is urged to report their experience here.
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