Florida hasn't had a CFO in months. Who will DeSantis pick, and why does it matter?
"Without a CFO in place, who in the hell is doing the business of the people?" asked former CFO Jimmy Patronis in a recent podcast. Patronis left the post on April 1 to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz as Northwest Florida's member of Congress.
Susan Miller, who was chief of staff under Patronis, is currently in charge of the Department of Financial Services, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has not officially named her CFO, even on an interim basis. The last press release from the department was in May, according to its website.
The vacancy in a high-level cabinet position is unusual — the CFO is third in the line of succession for governor, after the lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Especially since Florida also currently has no lieutenant governor: Former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez left that role in February to be interim president of Florida International University, one of several DeSantis allies in leadership positions in Florida's higher education. (She's since been confirmed as president permanently.)
At the first Florida Cabinet meeting since Patronis' absence, every new regulation or rule change was approved unanimously by DeSantis, Attorney General (and former DeSantis chief of staff) James Uthmeier, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
DeSantis had said he would appoint a temporary CFO by mid-May, after the scheduled end of the regular legislative session. But the session was extended due to a stalemate over budget talks between the House and Senate. A final budget was approved on June 17 and now awaits DeSantis' review. Now, a CFO choice could be forthcoming.
When a choice is made, it may bring more Republican drama.
DeSantis is said to favor a staunch loyalist for the position: Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill.
At the same time, Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, last year announced his intent to run for the open seat in 2026. He's endorsed by President Donald Trump.
It could make for an awkward GOP primary since Ingoglia is expected to also file to run for the seat for a full term. And Ingoglia, if appointed to serve the rest of Patronis' term, technically would have the advantage of being the incumbent.
Here's what to know, and why it's important:
The Department of Financial Services is powerful, in charge of paying state vendors and overseeing insurance, financial regulators and fire investigations.
It was created in 2002 after the Florida Cabinet was overhauled in 1998 by combining the former offices of comptroller, treasurer, insurance commissioner, and fire marshal.
"My department serves consumers and taxpayers through its work in 13 different divisions and additional initiatives I set forth," Patronis once wrote for the DFS website. "A world of information and assistance is provided by the department on issues ranging from insurance education and assistance, fire prevention and safety, and even unclaimed cash and property.
"I have also established additional priorities to assist Floridians including fighting fraud, consumer protection and fiscal transparency."
The DFS is made of the following divisions, each one with a direct impact on Floridians:
Accounting and Auditing
Consumer Services
Criminal Investigations
Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services
Insurance Agent and Agency Services
Office of Financial Regulation
Office of Insurance Regulation
Rehabilitation and Liquidation
Risk Management
Treasury
State Fire Marshal
Unclaimed Property
Workers' Compensation
State Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, is a long-time Trump ally who has support from Patronis and some influential Trump backers.
DeSantis will be making the interim appointment, however, and the two men have had a contentious relationship.
'I don't know where the Governor's going to go with the CFO seat, although I'm pushing hard and I'd like to have it now because I think it'd be better for Florida,' Gruters told reporters in December. He announced his bid for the CFO position in June 2024.
Gruters, 47, is a Tampa native with a bachelors' degree from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of South Florida. Previously a CPA for Robinson, Gruters & Roberts PA CPA LLC in Venice, he worked for multiple campaigns and became the chair of the Sarasota Republican Party.
Gruters was an early Trump supporter and one of the few GOP leaders who got behind him in 2012. He became Florida co-chair of Trump's 2016 campaign.
He won election as a House member in 2016 and moved to the Florida Senate two years later. He was reelected to the Senate in 2022.
In 2019 he was elected chair of the Republican Party of Florida and reelected in 2021. In 2023, Trump appointed Gruters to manage the Patriot Legal Defense Fund, his tax-exempt legal defense expense fund. Trump announced in April he was appointing Gruters to vice chair of the White House Homeland Security Council.
Gruters and DeSantis clashed back when Gruters was the state GOP chair over Gruters' pay and his organization of a fundraiser for the party. It didn't help when Gruters sided with Trump during DeSantis' campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, and later criticized the governor for spending taxpayer funds to attack an amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana; Gruters supported the amendment.
Gruters is married to Sydney Gruters and they have three children. Sydney Gruters was appointed by Trump in his first term to serve as the state director for Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. After that she worked as district director for U.S. Rep. Greg Steube before being hired as executive director of the New College Foundation during DeSantis' experiment in revamping the liberal arts college along more conservative lines.
State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, is a Queens, New York, native who moved to Florida in 1996 to start a mortgage company and homebuilding company. He became politically active, his bio says, when property taxes skyrocketed, founding "Government Gone Wild" and producing seminars and videos over governmental wastefulness.
The 54-year-old was elected chair of the Hernando County Republican Executive Committee in 2009, and then was elected vice-chair of the Republican Party of Florida in 2011.
In 2014, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and was later chosen chair of the Republican Party of Florida. He was reelected as state chair in 2017. Ingoglia ran for the Florida Senate in 2022 with DeSantis' endorsement and won.
As a close ally of DeSantis, described as the governor's "conservative pitbull in the Florida Senate,' Ingoglia has criticized legislative leaders during a rift with the governor over immigration laws. He's sponsored bills in line with DeSantis' agenda, including lowering property taxes and imposing term limits on local officials.
Ingoglia has been an official campaign spokesperson for both Trump and DeSantis.
This story includes previous reporting by Gray Rohrer of the USA TODAY Network – Florida Capital Bureau.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Chief Financial Officer pick may come down to loyalties
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