Top Florida GOP lawmaker urges his fellow Republicans to not take an 'axe' to state budget

05 March

Tallahassee, Florida, USA - April 18, 2022: The old and the new Florida State Capitol and the Florida House Office Building (Image: Shutterstock)

In Washington, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been heavily focused on mass firings of tens of thousands of federal workers and cancelling government contracts. Now, Republican lawmakers in Florida are implementing their own form of DOGE in the Sunshine State.

Politico reported Wednesday that a major focus of the Florida legislature's budget cuts is the state's public university system. The University of Florida in particular is being scrutinized following its ex-president, Ben Sasse (also a Republican former U.S. senator from Nebraska) getting into hot water over his lavish spending of public funds during his brief 17-month tenure.

The student-run Florida Alligator reported in 2024 that Sasse "more than tripled" presidential office spending in comparison to his predecessors, with more than $17 million spent compared to former UF President Ken Fuchs' $5.6 million. According to Politico, Sasse spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars on parties" that weren't "properly preauthorized or reasonably priced." Despite no longer being in charge of the university, Sasse (who is now a professor) is still being paid the same $200,000 salary he was paid as president, along with more than $700,000 in private funds.

"I feel like a lot of us want some accountability," Florida Republican state representative Judson Sapp said during a recent hearing.

Politico also reported that Florida lawmakers are probing Florida Atlantic University "overcharging students for fees tied to taking online classes" to the tune of $2.8 million. That money was reportedly put toward a "future facilities renovation project." Republican state representative Mike Caruso slammed the overcharging of students "to cover the cost of a capital project."

Andrew Spar, who is the president of the Florida Education Association, said he hoped elected officials would "remember" that the Sunshine State's public universities "are among the best in the nation" and that "politicians need to lift them up." However, despite lawmakers' zeal for cost-cutting, Florida Senate President Ben Albritton, who is also a Republican, emphasized that he hoped the legislature would use "a scalpel, maybe, instead of an axe" when making cuts.

"Whether you call it DOGE, or you just call it a standard legislative process, or maybe even an enhanced legislative process, we’re following down the same pathway," Albritton said.

Click here to read Politico's report in its entirety.

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