Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, eager to move past his political feud with President Donald Trump, has thrown his support behind the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force, which aims to dismantle federal agencies and fire thousands of civil servants.
DeSantis praised the initiative, claiming it has shattered government workers’ “aura of invincibility” and even boasted that his administration was “DOGE before DOGE was cool.” But while DeSantis touts government efficiency on the national stage, his own administration is facing mounting scrutiny from Florida Republicans who are investigating waste and abuse within his office, Politico reported Wednesday.
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According to the report, state lawmakers have raised concerns over fiscal mismanagement in multiple agencies. One department, they noted, couldn’t even account for how many vehicles the state owns. Other findings include agency secretaries working remotely despite being based in Tallahassee and a state agency spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on travel expenses for employees who don’t even reside in Florida.
Legislators are also scrutinizing vacant positions across multiple agencies, questioning whether those jobs should be permanently eliminated. “We are the guardians of the taxpayer,” said State House Speaker Daniel Perez, signaling a more aggressive approach to government oversight—one that is now aimed squarely at DeSantis’ administration.
Once considered a rising Republican star with firm control over Florida politics, DeSantis has seen cracks emerge in his relationship with the GOP-controlled state legislature. Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected his call for a broad special session, restricting it to illegal immigration and discarding some of his proposed enforcement measures.
Additionally, legislators are considering stripping DeSantis-appointed trustees of their power to hire and fire state university presidents. This potential move comes after years of DeSantis’ controversial shake-ups in Florida’s public higher education system, which critics argue have been driven by political ideology rather than academic integrity.
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Meanwhile, Trump’s DOGE task force, which DeSantis praised, has yet to produce concrete results in uncovering waste or fraud. Its widely publicized “wall of receipts” claiming to document taxpayer savings has been criticized for errors and misrepresentations.
As DeSantis attempts to align himself with Trump’s efficiency-driven agenda, he now faces an intensifying battle at home, where his own governance is under the microscope.
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