DeSantis appoints long-time ally, Ingoglia, as state's chief financial officer

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a new chief financial officer, long-time ally Blaise Ingoglia, at a news conference in Tampa on Wednesday.

The former state senator, representative replaces U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, who was elected to represent the 1st Congressional District. DeSantis said one of the reasons he appointed Ingoglia to the post was his views on wasteful government spending and property tax reform, which the two-term GOP governor wants on the November 2026 ballot.

DeSantis said one indicator of Ingoglia's views on government accountability is his personal X handle, GovGoneWild.

"I'm like, what does that mean?" DeSantis said. "And he told me that was years ago, he was watching out of control spending at the local level and he's like, 'why are we paying higher property taxes when you guys are spending like this?' And it was really to be an activist, to get new people in at the local level that would be friendly to taxpayers, and now, as chief financial officer, this is really going to come full circle for him because he's going to have the authority to go in and audit all those local governments and really hold them accountable. I care about record and on every single time we've had a flash point in the Florida Legislature, Blaise is running to battle to stand up for people like you."

DeSantis lauded Ingoglia, whom he said was a "warrior senator" with a great record on immigration enforcement, the Second Amendment and other issues. He also said the appointment was key since the post has the ability to audit local government spending as part of the state's Department of Government Efficiency.

Ingoglia says he wants to have a "proactive office" to protect taxpayer funds and implement maximum accountability.

"I've had a history of calling out wasteful spending whether it was Democrats or Republicans because I truly believe that government is accountable to the people and our job is to make sure we deliver on that promise," Ingoglia said. "I am going to work hand in glove, side by side, with this governor to make sure we can get rid of the property taxes on homestead exemption and offer real property tax relief to the people of Florida. Part of that is also making sure we are cutting back, cutting away and eliminating wasteful spending at the local level. I promise you we are going to start digging in, and we are going to start calling out some of this wasteful spending."