NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated how the Department of Justice reportedly decided to dismiss a complaint into the Hope Florida scandal that rocked the former presidential candidate and became a talking point for DeSantis critics.
The Floridian reported that President Donald Trump’s DOJ looked into the controversy in late 2025, but a source within the agency told the local outlet that there is “no predicate to open up an intake on this” and that “no further action is anticipated.”
“The witch hunt against the Hope Florida Foundation was orchestrated by left-wing media and their RINO allies,” DeSantis said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital in response to the report. “As we’ve said from day one, all agency actions were appropriate and legally sound.”
“The Hope Florida initiative continues to be the most successful conservative anti-poverty initiative of any state in the country,” DeSantis added.
TRUMP-BACKED DONALDS VOWS TO MAINTAIN DESANTIS ‘TRAJECTORY,’ TAKE FLORIDA TO ‘WHOLE NEW LEVEL’
Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the Justice Department for reportedly dismissing a complaint tied to the Hope Florida scandal, calling the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt” and insisting the initiative’s actions were legal. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Justice Department has not publicly confirmed the complaint has been dropped. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The controversy originated after Centene, a major health insurance company focused on government-sponsored programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, agreed to return $67 million to Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration to settle allegations that it overbilled Medicaid. After the settlement was finalized in September 2024, $10 million of the recovered funds was directed to the Hope Florida Foundation.
The Hope Florida Foundation then distributed the $10 million as two $5 million grants to 501(c)(4) organizations:…
