Florida CFO issues investigative subpoenas against Orange County government, employees over DEI grants

ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia alleged on Wednesday that some Orange County leaders and employees have not been fully cooperative with Florida's DOGE audit team, specifically surrounding grants and programs dealing with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

What they're saying:

CFO Ingoglia said during a press conference in Orlando that investigative subpoenas had been signed and would be delivered to Orange County for "all documents" related to these DEI grants and programs, and to Orange County employees who were involved with those programs.

"I think Orange County has something to hide," Ingoglia said he told Gov. DeSantis when asking for investigative subpoenas.

Ingoglia said he would not list the number of subpoenas that would be issued, citing the ongoing investigation, but alluded that there could be more issued in the future. He said Orange County was the first county in the state to have subpoenas issued, and alluded that others could be issued to other counties in the state – counties he alleged were not fully cooperating with Florida DOGE.

"We expect compliance with these subpoenas," Gov. DeSantis said.

Ingoglia alleged that when contacted by Florida DOGE, some Orange County employees  appeared to not provide complete answers to questions, and appeared to be "reading from a prepared script," he said. He said the team had received 1.2 million emails regarding DEI programs, but that info on five DEI-related grants were unavailable. He questioned where the missing or incomplete info was.

Orange County responds

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said his government has "fully cooperated" with the Florida DOGE team. He added that no employees were instructed to alter, change, or delete any documents, but said some employees may have read from or referred to notes or documents during interviews with DOGE employees.

Orange County Government fully cooperated with the Florida DOGE audit team providing all the data and documents requested. No employee was instructed 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.

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.

The backstory:

In Feb. 2025, Gov. DeSantis announced the creation of the Florida Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force. It was modeled after Elon Musk's DOGE efforts at the federal level to find and eliminate alleged wasteful spending by state governments. 

DeSantis then tasked local governments, schools, and universities to conduct similar audits, alongside the DOGE team.

In recent weeks, Ingoglia and the Florida DOGE Team have visited several cities/towns across the state, including Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville; Hillsborough County; Palm Beach County; and Manatee County. Ingoglia was last in Orange County on Aug. 5, according to a post on X.

On Aug. 7, Florida DOGE said it had received allegations that some local governments across the state were having staff to "delete, alter, or fabricate information before Florida DOGE site visits."

"We are putting local governments on notice: any effort to mislead our DOGE teams, conceal city or county activities, or pressure staff to be less than forthcoming or truthful will not be tolerated," the agency said in a statement.