Florida just gave $879 million back to the United States federal treasury.
Governor Ron DeSantis worked out the transfer with Elon Musk and Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
DOGE is a nationwide attempt by Trump to save the United States, which was, under Biden, heading straight for the brink of bankruptcy.
The federal funding was initially rejected by Florida because “it came with ideological – presumably Marxian Woke – strings attached.”
DeSantis, when explaining the transaction on X, said he had tried to give the money back to Biden.
However, Biden’s team – seemingly stunned by a state refusing a cool 1 billion simoleons – had no idea how to reverse the hand-out.
Signalling the Florida governor’s loudest support for Trump yet, DeSantis dropped a cropped image of the letter addressed to the US Treasury, which read: “The state of Florida was formally returning the taxpayer dollars to the federal government as part of DOGE’s efforts.”
Giving further context, the letter also contained a commitment to: “identify other unused or surplus federal funding granted to Florida, and determine if further refunds can be made.”
“We hope our actions serve as a model for other states to follow.”
The move fortifies DeSantis’ government efficiency executive order handed down in late February.
DeSantis’ DOGE declaration initializes a review of all levels of Florida’s bureaucracy.
The task force will operate for 12 months and look to cut back where fat cat bureaucrats are still benefiting from inflating the bureaucracy.
Cutting waste will, the executive order stated, “minimize the tax burden” on Floridians.
Five key goals of DeSantis in DOGE mode are:
- Tightening fiscal (government spending) accountability.
- Practicing limited government, while not limiting government services.
- Reforming “the bureaucratic workforce, by ending frivolous spending.”
- Making Florida less reliant on federal funding.
- Better improving the state of Florida’s already well-balanced local, regional, and state budgets.
Drawing attention to DOGE’s nose for quality control, and DeSantis’ cashback, DOGE boss, Elon Musk welcomed the solidarity.
Musk reshared the announcement, saying,
“Almost a billion dollars of your taxpayer money saved.”
Almost a billion dollars of your taxpayer money saved https://t.co/ZitGgZO41S
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 22, 2025
DeSantis has 9.4 billion reasons to boast about his fiscal management, which paved the way for Florida’s 879-million-dollar refund to Washington.
The state has close to 10 billion in “rainy day funds,” and has paid down 41% of Florida’s debt.
Another reason for optimism is illustrated by DeSantis’ initiatives, which have “saved Floridians $3.5 billion” in 2024 alone, alongside “eliminating dozens of unnecessary boards and canning needless regulations.”
Of significance, DOGE will dig into Florida’s universities.
Section 3 of the executive order requires Uni boards, and governors to work with DeSantis’s DOGE team to “identify and eliminate unnecessary spending, programs, course, staff, and any other inefficiencies with the State Uni and college system.”
This will no doubt impact centres that seemingly fund the feral state of far-left activism, by impacting those who see Florida’s freedom-fighting Governor as a fugitive.
I’m not pushing conjecture.
Woke Australian Unis melting down over losing 600 million in US funding, after not meeting efficiency standards, prove the point.
Out protesting the protestors, Musk wrote, “No wonder our national debt is so high – we’re sending money to everyone on Earth!”
The panic and outrage coming from Australian Universities is a sure sign DOGE’s nose for a quality return on taxpayer investments is needed closer to home.
Like career politicians, the tenured elite in Western-hating academia don’t like it when the free money tap is turned off.
Why should Western taxpayers within, and outside Australia be forced to fund institutions that hate them, their way of life, and culture?
If Peter Dutton is serious about leading the next Australian government, Dutton would do well to follow DeSantis’ newly found DOGE mode.
