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Traumatized Ex-DeSantis Staffers Have a Support Group: Politico

The Florida GOP star is apparently... not well-liked.

Staff members who worked under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis get together on a regular basis to “trade war stories” about working for the staunch Trump ally, according to Politico. Turnover during his days in Congress was famously high, and only two staffers who started with then-Rep. DeSantis in 2013 are still on his payroll. A dozen aides and consultants told Politico that he “treats staff like expendable widgets” and “largely relies on a brain trust of two: himself and his wife, Casey DeSantis, a former local TV journalist.” In one instance, DeSantis ordered a Florida GOP official suffering from cancer to be fired the week they returned from surgery.

DeSantis did get one ringing endorsement, from Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was a prominent member of DeSantis’ 2018 transition team and is now being investigated by the FBI for alleged sex trafficking. “To date, he’s risen in part due to his willingness to bet on himself over the political-industrial complex,” Gaetz said.