TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia escalated the DeSantis administration’s sweeping local government audit initiative on Tuesday, announcing subpoenas for Orange County employees and records tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Ingoglia accused county staff of deliberately obscuring information from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the governor’s newly created watchdog tasked with rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” in local governments.
WATCH: Forrest Saunders breaks down what's happening with Florida's DOGE audits
Allegations of Hidden Files
Speaking in Orlando, Ingoglia claimed whistleblowers tipped off his team that Orange County employees renamed documents and altered file tags to avoid detection during the audit.
“We got a phone call from somebody inside county government and told us that there were people inside county government that were actually changing the names of files,” Ingoglia said. “They were changing the names of the files, the PDFs, the contracts, the tags on a computer system in an attempt to try to hide the information from us.”
He said DOGE investigators ultimately reviewed 1.2 million county emails referencing DEI but found gaps. Out of six known DEI grant programs, records for five were missing.
“That was very, very strange indeed,” Ingoglia said, calling it evidence that county employees may have tried to “circumvent our review of their egregious spending.”
The subpoenas, delivered before Tuesday’s press conference, demand records and testimony from Orange County workers involved in the grant process. Ingoglia warned employees not to lie or withhold information:
“If we have to,” he said, “we will bring in FDLE and digital forensic units to find out exactly who did what.”
Orange County Pushes Back
Just hours later, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings flatly rejected the allegations. In a statement he said the Orange County government had cooperated fully with the DOGE auditors and that no employee had been to alter, change or delete any documents.
“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,” read the statement. “The state has offered no evidence to support its allegation that we were hiding information or acting without integrity. We welcome the opportunity for full public transparency on this issue.”
DeSantis Backs Subpoenas
Governor Ron DeSantis, appearing alongside Ingoglia, said the move was necessary to secure accountability.
“The CFO would not have issued the subpoenas if all the questions were answered. I mean, this is not performative. He wants answers, and under the law, he’s entitled to answers,” DeSantis said.
He noted lawmakers recently expanded DOGE’s authority in the state budget, reflecting voter frustration with rising local property taxes.
“Blaise doesn’t answer to the county government, no one else in state government does, and we want to be able to get the answers that he’s entitled to,” DeSantis added.
Property Tax Politics
Both men linked the crackdown to a 2026 ballot initiative that could deliver statewide property tax relief. Ingoglia argued state intervention is justified because local governments have failed to curb budgets.
“This initiative is very, very popular with voters,” he said. “Local governments are not giving their own taxpayers relief, so the state has to come in and do something about it.”
While the DEI grants under scrutiny amount to roughly $500,000–$600,000 over three years — “not a lot,” Ingoglia admitted — he said the bigger concern was transparency.
“It’s the question of hiding the information because they know they are going to be embarrassed that they were spending the money in the first place,” the CFO said.
Critics See “Political Theater”
Democrats quickly blasted the subpoenas as a political stunt. State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) believed it was an effort to deflect attention away from a recent federal court ruling that requires the shuttering of Florida’s migrant detention and deportation facility in the Everglades over environmental concerns. In addition, new reporting from the Associated Press that the site, which cost the state hundreds of millions to build, may be empty in only a matter of days.
“So much of this DeSantis press conference just seems like a distraction from the Everglades Immigrant Detention Camp closing,” she wrote in a social media post.
Others have previously denounced the DOGE audits as specifically targeting Democratic-led jurisdictions to score political points.
“This is just political theater. It’s a total waste of time,” said Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville). “We should be using our resources where we actually need it. They should definitely be auditing insurance companies to make sure they are driving our cost down as it relates to property insurance.”
During a recent interview, Nixon argued the audits threaten public safety funding and distract from pressing issues. Democrats continue to argue cutting local government budgets may result in a reduction in services.
“What it seems like is Blaise Ingoglia is really trying to defund the police and defund our firefighters and first responders,” she said.
Other watchdogs have raised concerns too. Jeff Kottkamp, vice president of Florida TaxWatch, noted the state’s own budget contains more than $2 billion in local “member projects,” many with questionable statewide benefits.
Broader DOGE Crackdown
Since its launch earlier this summer, DOGE teams have been conducting on-site reviews in cities and counties across Florida, including Gainesville, Jacksonville, Miami-Dade, Pinellas, and Broward. Ingoglia — a former GOP state senator tapped by DeSantis as CFO just weeks ago — has positioned himself as a “fiscal pit bull,” vowing subpoenas and even criminal referrals for those who obstruct audits.
“Orange County fooled around, and now they’re about to find out,” he said Tuesday.
What’s Next
Orange County officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the subpoenas. DeSantis and Ingoglia both hinted more subpoenas could follow in other jurisdictions accused of stonewalling.
“This may not be the end of the investigatory subpoenas,” Ingoglia said.
'By the Grace of God, I’m still here:' Seminole man survives lightning strike outside pizza shop
Travis Kurtz says he’s lucky to be alive after collapsing outside Rizzotto’s Pizzeria — and credits the owner, his girlfriend, and a few guardian angels for saving his life.