A Florida lawmaker who filed a bill that would have authorized up to $5 million in taxpayer money to help pay for former President Donald Trump's legal bills now says she will withdraw it.
Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia said Monday night that filed SB 1740 earlier this month amid a crowded field of GOP candidates for president.
"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," Garcia posted on X.
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SB 1740, named "Grants for Victims of Political Discrimination," would have created the "Florida Freedom Fighters Fund." According to a news release from Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis, the fund would have provided financial support to Florida residents running for president "who face legal, partisan, political attacks by the Department of Justice or State Attorneys.
"We need this Freedom Fighters Fund because as the Free State of Florida, we’re facing an onslaught of attacks from the federal government against the Sunshine State," Patronis said in part. "If we can help and support a Florida candidate for the White House, that’s just good from a dollars and cents perspective."
Garcia has endorsed Trump's reelection.
Politics
"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," Garcia said in a statement issued earlier Monday. "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."
The state's Democratic Party chair called the bill a "victim card" and "disgrace."
“What this shows you is who the Florida GOP is loyal to, because it's certainly not the people of Florida,” Nikki Fried said. “They're quick and ready to dole out up to $5 million dollars for Trump, but have yet to put forward a solution to our property insurance and housing crisis, the 4,000-teacher shortage, or the crippling costs of healthcare because the legislature simply refuses to expand Medicaid. Senator Garcia’s victim-card bill is a disgrace and we expect nothing less from Jimmy. This bill should inflame any Floridian who cares where their tax dollars are going."
The $5 million would have been frontloaded from matching funds of the state's public campaign finance. The legislation would then backfill the funding from voluntary donations via driver’s license registrations.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who suspended his candidacy for president and endorsed Trump, suggested on X that he would veto the bill.
