Dive Brief:

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state would be rolling out DOGE-style efforts to audit spending practices at the local and county government level, announcing Tuesday that it would be launching the initiative utilizing new authority from the state legislature to send inspection teams to Broward County and the city of Gainesville. 
• The state’s newly sworn-in CFO Blaise Ingoglia on Monday posted on the social media site X two July 21 letters from the Executive Office of the Governor sent to Broward County Mayor Beam Furr and Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward, similarly promising to audit local governments and protect tax dollars.
• “What we’re here to do is shine a light, you cannot have meaningful property tax reform unless you have meaningful spending reform and the only way to do that is let the citizens know exactly what your governments are spending their money on,” Ingoglio said in a press conference Tuesday. “So we’re going to go in and we’re going to work hard, do our due diligence and show you need to start cutting back.” 

Dive Insight:

President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, the same day he was inaugurated for his second term in the White House, signed an executive order establishing a new Department of Government Efficiency. Tech billionaire Elon Musk led the controversial federal initiative which led to the firing of thousands of federal workers and slashed funding for many agencies and programs.  

The announcement of the state’s DOGE push come roughly a week after DeSantis appointed the then state senator Ingoglio to become Florida’s next CFO. The seat was vacated late last year when Jimmy Patronis stepped down to run for and win a congressional seat.  

Ingoglia appears to be following in the footsteps of his predecessor who regularly made headlines for weighing in on national culture wars and topics far beyond typical state financial duties. 

In the social media post Ingoglio said the letters sent to Gainseville and Broward requested “financial information on compensation, contracts, DEI, etc.” The letter to the Gainesville mayor posted on Ingoglia’s social media site, which was signed by DeSantis and other state officials including the finance chief, cites authority for the CFO’s access to information under the state’s constitution.  

“We hereby request access to your city’s physical premises, data systems and responsive personnel, as detailed below our signatures, on July 31 and Aug. 1, 2025,” the letter states. 

Gainesville and Broward County officials could not immediately be reached for comment.