Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just sent a loud and clear message to Washington: ideological strings don’t belong in state budgets. On Friday, DeSantis returned nearly $900 million in federal funds to the Biden administration—funds Florida had been trying to give back for years.

The breakthrough came after a meeting with Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DeSantis took to X to announce the news, saying,

“For years, Florida has been trying to return federal funds to the federal government due to the ideological strings attached by the Biden Administration—but they couldn’t even figure out how to accept it.”

For years, Florida has been trying to return federal funds to the federal government due to the ideological strings attached by the Biden Administration—but they couldn't even figure out how to accept it. Today, I met with @elonmusk and the DOGE team, and we got this done in the… pic.twitter.com/uWyloPAhBU

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 21, 2025

Thanks to Musk and the DOGE team, Florida was able to cut through the red tape and get it done in a single day.

DeSantis encouraged other states to follow Florida’s lead and support DOGE’s mission to eliminate waste and end federal overreach. Once again, Florida leads by example, putting principle over politics and proving that when states work with efficient leadership, big results follow fast.