Florida
Governor
Ron
DeSantis
speaks
at
a
press
conference
at
the
American
Police
Hall
of
Fame
&
Museum
in
Titusville.
DeSantis
used
the
event
to
sign
bills
into
law
that
increase
penalties
for
offenses
involving
sexual
battery
on
children
and
drug
trafficking
targeting
children,
and
a
third
bill
involving
pretrial
release
and
detention. 

Paul
Hennessy
|
Lightrocket
|
Getty
Images

Allies
of
Florida
Gov.
Ron
DeSantis
are
reportedly
planning
to
execute
a
controversial
money
transfer
to
free
up
tens
of
millions
of
dollars
to
support
his
expected
2024
presidential
campaign.

DeSantis,
widely
considered
former
President

Donald
Trump
‘s
top
potential
Republican
primary
rival,
won
his
2018
gubernatorial
race
and
easily
clinched
reelection
in
2022
with
the
help
of
a
deep-pocketed
state
political
committee.
The
group
has

raised

more
than
$225
million
for
DeSantis
and
currently
boasts
nearly
$86
million
in
cash
on
hand.

But
if
DeSantis
decides
to
run
for
president

as
he
is
widely
expected
to
do
in
the
coming

weeks


he
is
legally
barred
from
dumping
that
war
chest
into
his
federal
campaign
coffer.
That’s
because
federal
law
bans
the
transfer
of
state-level
political
funds
to
a
national
election.

Instead,
the
governor’s
allies
could
try
to
transfer
them
to
a
pro-DeSantis
federal
super
PAC,
which
is
required
to
remain
independent
of
his
potential
presidential
bid.
The
Wall
Street
Journal,
citing
people
familiar
with
the
situation,
has

reported

that
those
plans
are
underway.

“That
is
the
path
we
expect
for
DeSantis
to
take,”
Shanna
Ports,
senior
legal
counsel
for
the
nonprofit
government
watchdog
Campaign
Legal
Center,
said
in
an
interview.

Ports’
group
argues
that
such
a
transfer
from
a
candidate-controlled
state
committee
to
a
federal
super
PAC
is
illegal.
But
other
experts
disagree,
and
Ports
acknowledged
that
the
Federal
Election
Commission
“has
not
had
the
teeth
to
enforce
in
this
area.”

There’s
history
to
support
that
claim:
The
FEC
allowed
a
similar
maneuver
during
the
2020
congressional
race
of
Rep.
Byron
Donalds,
R-Fla.

Donalds,
a
former
state
representative,
had
resigned
as
chair
of
his
own
political
committee,
“Friends
of
Byron
Donalds,”
shortly
before
running
for
Congress.
A
few
months
later,
that
state
group
contributed
more
than
$107,000
to
a
federal
independent
political
committee
that
supported
Donalds’
candidacy.

The
Campaign
Legal
Center
filed
a

complaint

accusing
Donalds
of
violating
a
ban
on
using
non-federal
funds,
or
“soft
money,”
for
a
federal
election.
But
the
FEC
took

no
action

on
the
matter,
unpersuaded
that
Donalds
controlled
the
state
group’s
moves
after
he
resigned.

Friends
of
Ron
DeSantis
could
soon
try
to
transfer
a
moneybag
roughly
800
times
the
size
of
Donalds’.
But
experts
say
that
when
it
comes
to
the
law,
size
doesn’t
matter.

“Ultimately,
the
legal
principles
aren’t
really
changed
by
the
amount
of
money
involved,”
Bradley
Smith,
a
Republican
former
FEC
commissioner,
said
of
the
potential
transfer
of
funds.

“My
basic
take
on
it
is
that
I
don’t
think
they’re
going
to
have
a
real
problem,”
Smith
said.

The
state
committee,
Friends
of
Ron
DeSantis,
appears
to
be
positioning
itself
for
the
transfer.
The
group
this
week
selected
state
Sen.
Blaise
Ingoglia,
a
Republican
ally
of
DeSantis,
to
take
over
as
its
chairman.
The
committee’s
website,
which
as

recently

as
last
month
had
listed
DeSantis
as
its
“associated
person,”
now
lists
Ingoglia.

The
state
senator
confirmed
his
appointment
in
a
statement
to
CNBC
that
does
not
specify
it
will
focus
on
electing
state-level
candidates.
Instead,
Ingoglia’s
statement
says
the
group
will
“put
children
first”
and
echoes
rhetoric
used
by
the
governor
in
his
highly
publicized
fight
to
ban
some
classroom
discussion
about
gender
identity
and
sexual
orientation.

A
spokeswoman
for
Ingoglia
could
not
immediately
be
reached
for
further
comment.

Friends
of
Ron
DeSantis
is
allowed
to
accept
unlimited
contributions
from
donors,
and
it
shows.
The
group
in
recent
years
received
single
donations
of
$10
million,
from
hotelier
Robert
Bigelow,
and
$5
million
from
hedge
fund
CEO
Ken
Griffin,
among
many
others
that
far
exceed
the $6,600
cap
that
individuals
can
give
to
national
election
committees.

Bigelow
has
also
revealed
himself
as
the

top
donor

to
Never
Back
Down,
a
super
PAC
that
says
it
has
already
raised
more
than
$33
million
as
it
encourages
DeSantis
to
run
for
president.

Spokespeople
for
Never
Back
Down
declined
CNBC’s
requests
for
comment
about
the
state
committee’s
reported
transfer
of
funds.

Meanwhile,
DeSantis
appears
to
be
preparing
to
launch
a
presidential
campaign.

Backed
by
a
heavily
Republican
state
Legislature,
DeSantis
spent
the
preceding
two
months
passing
reams
of

new
state
policy

that
broadly
sketch
the
kind
of
populist,
culture-focused
agenda
he
is
expected
to
espouse
on
the
campaign
trail.

The
GOP
state
lawmakers
also
passed
measures
allowing
DeSantis
to
run
for
president
without

resigning

as
governor
and

shielding

his
travel
records
from
public
view.

He
has
also
been
hosting
a
flurry
of
dinners
and
other
events
with
prospective
Republican
donors,
according
to
various
news
outlets.

Roy
Bailey,
a
Texas
bundler
who
recently
met
with
DeSantis,
sang
the
governor’s
praises
in
a
call
with
CNBC.
“I’ve
told
him
I’m
hoping
he
gets
in
and
prayerfully
considers
it,
and
I’m
ready
to
support
him
if
he
does,”
Bailey
said.

The
process
has
apparently
garnered
some
mixed
results,
however.
Republican
megadonor
Steve
Schwarzman,
opted
to
hold
off
on
contributing
to
DeSantis’
efforts
after
a
recent
meeting,
Bloomberg

reported
.

If
successful,
the
transfer
of
cash
from
DeSantis’
state
committee
to
a
super
PAC
could
also
help
reverse
the
governor’s
downward
slide
in
some

polls

of
the
potential
primary
race.

Trump
has
pulled
ahead
as
the
clear
frontrunner
while
bashing
DeSantis
at
every
available
opportunity,
even
after
being
criminally
charged
with
falsifying
business
records
and
found
liable
for
sexual
abuse
and
defamation.
Trump,
who
is
also
under
criminal
investigation
in
two
federal
cases
and
one
in
Georgia,
has
pleaded
not
guilty
to
the
business
charges
and
moved
to
appeal
the
sexual
abuse
verdict.

Some
experts,
like
those
at
the
Campaign
Legal
Center,
see
the
use
of
state
funds
at
the
federal
level
as
a

loophole
.
But
Smith,
the
Republican
former
FEC
commissioner,
noted
that
calling
it
a
loophole
implies
it
isn’t
illegal.

“I
think
the
loophole
exists
because
of
serious
constitutional
concerns,”
he
said.
“One
person’s
loophole
is
another
person’s
constitutionally
protected
speech.”