Gruters says DeSantis’ Sarasota budget vetoes are over Trump endorsement, governor’s office rebuts

SARASOTA, Fla. (FLV) – Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, claimed that Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed Sarasota budget items because Gruters endorsed former President Donald Trump over the governor for president in 2024.

Gruters told Florida’s Voice that the governor is “clearly upset” at his Trump endorsement and “took it out on the people of Sarasota County.”

The governor’s office responded, telling Florida’s Voice that Gruters’ assertion is “absurd.”

“Senator Gruters turning conservative governance and fiscal responsibility into a political statement is absurd,” Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for DeSantis, said. “Governor DeSantis approved more than $125 million for Sarasota County, including $25 million for New College of Florida.”

DeSantis signed the $116.5 billion budget Thursday and released his list of nearly $500 million in vetoed items. The governor vetoed $29 million that was allocated toward projects in Sarasota.

The governor’s office said the $155 million in Sarasota projects approved by DeSantis includes items such as $10 million for school district workforce education programs and $33 million for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota operating programs.

“Simply because I support his political opponent, the governor chose to punish ordinary Floridians who want better water quality, less traffic congestion and increased resources for disabled children to find gainful employment,” Gruters said. “It’s mean-spirited acts like this that are defining him here and across the country.”

Some of the Sarasota budget items that were vetoed include:

• $20 million for University of South Florida – Sarasota-Manatee Campus Academic STEM Nursing Facility
• $600,000 for Sarasota Academy of the Arts – Campus Expansion Project
• $800,000 for Sarasota Whitaker & Hudson Bayous Water Quality Project
• $250,000 for Sarasota Bobby Jones Nature Park, Phase I

Here is the full list of vetoed items

Trump and DeSantis are known to be the top two contenders for the presidential Republican primary in 2024.

Gruters is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and has been a long-time supporter of Trump.

He was the co-chair of President Trump’s 2016 Florida presidential campaign.

“Trump and I understand that people come first, and it’s our job to deliver clean water, jobs, and a better America for the next generation,” Gruters said. “The governor clearly sees politics differently.”

Gruters was elected to the Florida Senate in 2018 following his service in the House of Representatives from 2016-2018.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a correction from the governor’s office about the amount DeSantis approved for Sarasota County.