July 28, 2026, 9:56 a.m. ET
- U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is staying mom on her approval of a $10 million transfer to the Hope Florida Foundation.
- The funds, originally for children’s health care, were reportedly diverted to political action committees through Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis’ charity.
- Key figures involved in the Hope Florida transfer all ended up getting big promotions from DeSantis.
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody remains silent about why she approved $10 million in taxpayer funds to be transferred to Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida Foundation.
The $10 million, once it landed at the charity, was diverted to political action committees — one controlled by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Chief of Staff James Uthmeier — that helped defeat 2024 ballot initiatives on abortion and marijuana.
The money from a $67 million Medicaid settlement was earmarked to expand health care for children.
The Hope Florida scandal is not going away as Democrats continue to use it as cannon fodder when possible. Lt. Col. Alex Vindman and State Rep. Angie Nixon are facing off in the primary to be the Democrat who challenges Moody in the fall.
“Moody has become just as corrupt as the boys,” Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried posted on X on Monday, July 27. “When you refuse to stand up for what is right and bend a knee to power, you have no business representing people in any office.”
How and when did Ashley Moody become a Florida senator?
Fried posted on X after CBS Miami affiliate, WFOR-TV, looked at Moody’s role in the Hope Florida issue for a story Monday, July 27. It reported that the senator had refused to answer its questions.
Moody approved the transfer of the $10 million to Hope Florida when she served as Florida’s attorney general before her appointment by DeSantis to the Senate when Marco Rubio became secretary of state.
Moody “was also a staunch opponent and helped us defeat Amendments 3 and 4 in the most recent November election,” DeSantis said when appointing her on Jan 21, 2025.
DeSantis appointed Moody to U.S. senator, Uthmeier to Florida attorney general and John Guard, who was the chief deputy under Moody, to state judge.
“Every one of those people involved came out on top. They got a promotion,” said Barbara Petersen, executive director of The Florida Center for Government Accountability.
Watchdog organization fights to unseal grand jury information
The organization is trying to intervene in any court hearing held involving the release of the grand jury presentation on Hope Florida. The Leon County State Attorney’s Office presented evidence on the use of the charity for political purposes, but no charges were ever brought.
The report becomes public unless someone who is mentioned in it objects. So far Moody and Uthmeier have refused to answer questions about whether they have stifled the release.
“This is likely the largest political scandal in modern Florida political history involving the top players of state government, potentially the U.S. Senator, the governor, the attorney general, and it’s all secret,” Petersen told USA Today Network Florida.
In the meantime, Hope Florida is a political cannon fodder for the Democrats–though it remains to be seen if it will matter to voters in November.
WFOR-TV asked Moody if she knew the Medicaid money would be used for political purposes and whether she was in contact with DeSantis or his team about it.
State Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, is the chair of the Florida House Health Care Budget Subcommittee, which led an inquiry into the Hope Florida matter. Appearing on WFOR’s political Sunday show, Facing South Florida, Andrade said he tried to interview Moody during his investigation, but she never responded.
“Sen. Moody has never commented on it, so it’s unclear what she knew, what she was told, why there weren’t more controls, more questions being asked by the attorney general’s office [about the diversion],” he added.
John Pacenti is the Government Impact Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
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