Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will give low-income families $450 each from COVID relief funds to help 'offset the costs of inflation'

  • DeSantis administration blamed Biden administration for spiraling inflation 
  • It is sending $450 checks to needy families in time for the new school year
  • DeSantis is running for reelection, and is also eying a 2024 presidential run 
  • In a letter to families he said the checks can be used for anything

Tens of thousands of families in Florida will receive checks for $450 to help them cope with inflation in emerged on Friday after Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration announced it will use federal COVID relief funds to pay for the program.

Some 59,000 families are expected to benefit in time for the new school year.

'To offset the costs of rising inflation, especially with a new school year approaching, the State of Florida is giving you $450 for each child in your care,' reads a letter from DeSantis that goes out with the checks.

'This one-time payment can be used for anything from buying diapers to fueling up at the pump.' 

Florida has made clear that it blames the Biden administration's economic mismanagement for rising costs. 

And it is latest example of the way DeSantis - who is running for reelection in Florida this way - has managed to insert himself into the national debate as he eyes a possible 2024 presidential run.

The money is part of a program called Hope Florida, let by the state's first lady Casey DeSantis.

Her office recently announced that the checks would cost some $35 million, drawn from the $1 billion the state received from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is sending out $450 checks to low-income families to help them cope with the 'costs of rising inflation' as he eyes 2024 presidential run

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is sending out $450 checks to low-income families to help them cope with the 'costs of rising inflation' as he eyes 2024 presidential run

Checks come with a letter signed by DeSantis, saying they can spend the money on anything

Checks come with a letter signed by DeSantis, saying they can spend the money on anything

Casey DeSantis, the governor's wife, unveiled the program during a recent appearance

Casey DeSantis, the governor's wife, unveiled the program during a recent appearance

'This one-time payment assists families who are being affected by rising inflation and preparing to send their children back to school,' said Laura Walthall, of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Officials say families do not need to apply for the payments and they should arrive automatically in the mail. 

It comes after inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1 percent last month, sending interest rates high and raising recession fears.

The DeSantis administration has made clear just who it believes is to blame for spiraling costs 

'Inflation is caused by the federal govt printing money and deficit spending, which has happened at a record pace since COVID,' Christine Pushaw, a spokesperson for DeSantis, wrote on Twitter. 

'Unlike our indebted federal govt, the State of Florida has a budget surplus due to good management by @GovRonDeSantis. That money belongs to Floridians.'

DeSantis' stance on a range of culture war issues has seen him become a target for Democrats.

Last week Vice President Kamala Harris took aim at 'so-called leaders' in Florida and neighboring Republican-led states over their stances on gun control, election security laws and abortion rights.

Inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1 percent last month

Inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1 percent last month

Without naming the Sunshine State's Republican governor, Harris implicitly criticized DeSantis in a speech on his own home turf in Orlando.

The vice president had been addressing the national convention of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority - which Harris had been a part of as a student at Howard University.

'There are, as there have always been, forces that stand in our way. Forces that oppose...even the most common sense gun safety proposals,' Harris said.

'Forces that include extremist, so-called leaders, who instead of expanding rights work to restrict rights.'

And California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked his presidential rumors with a $105,000 ad buy on Fox News hitting DeSantis.

'I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight -- or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom,' Newsom said in the July 4th ad, which has the feel of a political campaign spot.

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