Florida CFO subpoenas county workers for not cooperating with state DOGE efforts

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida's chief financial officer said Wednesday that his office had issued subpoenas to county workers in the Orlando area after they didn't fully cooperate with the state's version of DOGE, which has been examining local governments for wasteful spending.

The subpoenas for Orange County workers over failing to cooperate fully with the state's DOGE efforts were the first, but workers in other counties could face similar subpoenas, said Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia. Orange County is home to Orlando.

The Republican chief financial officer accused Orange County workers of hiding records related to diversity, equality and inclusion, also known as DEI, and reading from a prepared script when asked questions. He wouldn't say how many subpoenas his office had issued.

Ingoglia said part of the review of county and municipal governments was looking to see what DEI contracts the local governments had signed.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said Wednesday that the county fully cooperated with the Florida DOGE audit team and that state officials had no evidence to support their allegations.

“No employee was instructed to alter, change or delete any documents,” Demings said in a statement. “While our employees may have read from or referred to notes or documents being discussed by the DOGE team, employees were not scripted in their remarks.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference in Orlando on Wednesday that he expected the county workers to comply with the subpoenas. If a worker refuses, the chief financial officer can petition a court for a ruling ordering the worker to comply, according to Florida law.

DeSantis critics say the DOGE audits are only the latest efforts by the Republican governor to exert control over local governments, particularly in Florida's largest cities which lean Democratic. DeSantis previously has suspended from office two elected prosecutors in Orlando and Tampa, though the Orlando area prosecutor won her job back in an election last fall.

“I get it. There can be some friction,” DeSantis said. “Florida, politically now, is like a big red peninsula with some blue dots, right? Orlando is one of the blue dots.”

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