Gov. Ron DeSantis loves to weigh in on current events.
At an event Monday, the governor held forth on the possibility of Elon Musk’s new political party and spoke on the deadly floods in Texas. In the past few weeks, he’s commented numerous times on the New York City mayoral primary election and the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani.
But since its passage, DeSantis does not appear to have publicly given his opinion on the signature political achievement of President Donald Trump’s second term. In the past week, the Tampa Bay Times asked DeSantis’ office five times about the governor’s take on the sprawling One Big Beautiful Bill Act. DeSantis’ office did not respond.
The silence is particularly noteworthy given the massive effect the bill will have on Florida. To take two examples from a massive, 870-page bill, the Florida Hospital Association said cuts to Medicaid included in the package will result in cutbacks to patient care, particularly in underserved areas. By slashing food assistance, Congress has left a potential multimillion-dollar hole in Florida’s budget that will have to be filled.
DeSantis, an avowed budget hawk, has also not given his opinion on the fact that the bill is expected to explode federal deficits by some $3.4 trillion over the next decade. (On Monday, he spoke, vaguely, about his disapproval of congressional spending, but he wasn’t speaking about Trump’s bill.)
Nor has he celebrated the bill’s tax cuts or the tens of billions of dollars in new funding for immigration enforcement — both of which were major Trump campaign promises in 2024.
His silence is noteworthy compared to other Republicans.
In June, other GOP governors wrote a letter praising the bill but criticizing a provision on artificial intelligence. Although DeSantis posted his disapproval of the AI measure to X, he did not sign onto the letter. (The AI clause was ultimately stripped.)
Since its passage, congressional Republicans have touted the bill, saying it’s a big win for their constituents.
“The swamp said it couldn’t be done—but we proved them wrong. This is how we Make America Strong Again, Make America Safe Again, and Make America Great Again,” Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Pinellas County wrote in an email newsletter to constituents.
GOP U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed by DeSantis to her post, cheered on the bill’s passage in a statement as well.
Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott was somewhat more qualified in his praise of the bill, noting its hefty cost. But he, too, voted for the bill and issued a public statement after its passage.
“In this bill, there are many spending projects you will be surprised to see with our nation more than $37 trillion in debt. I was, too. But, that is the imperfect process of bringing elected individuals together to pass a bill that works for their states,” Scott wrote in part.
Ultimately, every Florida Republican in Congress voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of DeSantis’ biggest allies in Congress, was among the few Republican no votes.)
DeSantis’ quiet posture highlights the awkward political position he’s in as Florida’s outgoing leader. Term-limited come 2027, the governor is widely seen as a popular leader with a long list of conservative accomplishments in his home state.
But perhaps because he wants to run for higher office in the future, DeSantis seems unwilling to publicly criticize Trump’s legislative priorities — no matter how expensive they are.