Published by the Florida Center for Government Accountability
DeSantis’ chartered jet trade mission around the world cost nearly $1.6 million
The agency that organized the trip stated that no public tax money was used.
Scrutiny has mounted over his travel habits since he began his presidential campaign, including an ethics complaint filed against the governor over plane trips connected to a book promotional tour earlier this year. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
By GARY FINEOUT
TALLAHASEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ week-long trade mission in April that took him around the globe cost nearly $1.6 million, according to records released by the DeSantis administration to POLITICO.
The bulk of the cost went to pay to charter two private jets for the trip that took the Republican governor, along with first lady Casey DeSantis and other state officials and business leaders, to stops in Japan, South Korea, Israel and England.
Enterprise Florida, the now-shuttered economic development agency that organized the trip, maintained that no public tax money was used to pay for the trip. But in a summary document released Friday, it defended the decision to rely primarily on charter flights that were significantly more expensive than commercial airlines.
DeSantis took the international trip — which resulted in the governor meeting with foreign leaders and top officials of United States allies — just weeks before he jumped into the race for president and was seen as a way for him to build foreign policy credentials. He met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.