Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried didn't mince words on Monday after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a state version of Elon Musk's Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE).
“Ron DeSantis needs to shut his damn mouth,” Fried said in a news release. “Republicans have been in total control of Florida’s government for nearly 30 years, and he wants to talk about government waste?"
Nikki Fried criticized the governor, in the name of the state-based DOGE, for wasting taxpayer dollars on several initiatives.
“Ron has consistently passed the largest state budgets in Florida’s history, illegally spent millions of taxpayer dollars to run political campaigns to take down Amendments 3 & 4 and just allocated $250 million to fund his political stunt on immigration. Don’t lecture us on wasting taxpayer dollars," Fried added.
She also asserted the move was a reaction to President Donald Trump endorsing U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds for Governor.
“We all know this isn’t about reigning in spending — it’s about Trump endorsing Byron Donalds instead of Casey DeSantis. Maybe Ron should have considered the political consequences before he decided to run against the leader of his party for president," Fried concluded.
The task force's mission is part of Ron DeSantis' plan to overhaul higher education. Florida DOGE intends to audit universities and banish nearly one thousand positions at "obsolete" state boards and commissions.
Specifically, it includes auditing state universities by examining finances, operation effectiveness, and cooperation with eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
"We are creating a state DOGE task force that will implement a multi-pronged approach to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and modernize our state government," DeSantis said, revealing that the group will serve a one-year term and disband after the "completion of the mission."
This idea of "trimming the fat" might have been in the works for several months as both DeSantis and Florida House Speaker Danny "Daniel" Perez have discussed a DOGE style blueprint at the state level.
Just don't expect well wishes from Fried anytime soon.
