Governor defends Hope Florida as director’s resignation announced

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Just 1 time aft testifying earlier a authorities House subcommittee, Hope Florida’s enforcement manager has resigned.

The charity, established by Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, has been nether scrutiny arsenic lawmakers inquire however and wherefore $10 cardinal successful payer wealth was diverted to the backstage foundation.

Erik Dellenback seemingly announced his resignation successful March aft conscionable 3 months connected the job, but the nationalist is lone learning astir it connected Wednesday.

Dellenback leads the Hope Florida programme ― not the foundation, the fundraising limb which is nether scrutiny.

He did attest successful that House committee and appeared to beryllium clueless astir the issue.

The resignation apt had thing to bash with the House committee proceeding astir the $10 cardinal granted to 2 acheronian wealth groups connected to the governor’s and allies’ political-type campaigns.

The committee seat typical posted the resignation news.

“Did anyone ever springiness you a heads up, ‘Hey, you guys diagnostic heavily, that the entity that you’re the enforcement manager of, features heavy successful the state’s largest contracts’?” State Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola asked during the hearing.

“They did not and that was not an country that I person (a) large knowing (of),” Dellenback said.

Dellenback became Hope Florida manager successful January, aft the question of money. He and the programme itself are not accused of wrongdoing.

It’s the Hope Florida instauration that raises its backstage fund that’s successful the crosshairs, and truthful is the Department of Children and Families from which the programme is run.

“Hope Florida arsenic a programme didn’t request immoderate money,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday. “It didn’t request anything. It’s conscionable repurposing the mode we bash payment programs.”

On Wednesday, the politician gave what has go a regular defence of the Hope Florida programme and did not admit the foundation’s fiscal questions, alternatively blaming lawmakers of his ain party.

“The full happening that the House enactment is doing is simply a manufactured fraud,” DeSantis said. “This is simply a hoax.”

And yet the seat of that House committee has ordered up each kinds of documents and has ordered the attorneys progressive successful that instauration transportation to look adjacent week.

Dellenback’s resignation is effectual May 1.

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