Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia (R) announced she will withdraw her bill to send $5 million from Florida’s budget to support the legal defense of former President Donald Trump. The bill was heartily endorsed and heavily promoted by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.
A release from Patronis’ office explained its initial support of the bill:
“We’re in the midst of an historic moment where we’re watching an election that’s trying to be stolen by left wing prosecutors, the Biden Administration and even Blue States. They’re not trying to win at the ballot box; they’re trying to keep President Trump off the ballot by weaponizing the courts. Having a Floridian in the White House is good for our state — and anything we can do to support Florida Presidential candidates, like President Trump, will not only benefit our state, but our nation.”
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Garcia’s decision came less than two hours after DeSantis publicly posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that he did not support the measure.
“This bill was filed on January 5th amidst a crowded primary, including two Florida residents,” Garcia said in response to DeSantis. “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. I will be withdrawing the bill.”
