New governor's ride will be seized former drug plane
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (NSF) - Governor Ron DeSantis will travel across the state using a former drug plane, which was seized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and later upgraded.
An issue surrounding the governor’s travel came about after former Governor Rick Scott sold the state air fleet eight years ago and the multimillionaire’s wealth allowed him to uses his own private jet to travel the state during his tenure. However, the new governor’s net worth is listed at just over $300,000, which makes owning a plane not a likely option.
DeSantis’ opinion is that the seized plane can be used because FDLE has the responsibility to protect the governor and provide transportation. However, he says use of the plane will be limited to his travels.
“That is not going to be like the old state planes where the cabinet and other people could do it. It flows from their responsibility to protect me,” Gov. DeSantis explained Wednesday.
The legislature is also considering options for transporting cabinet members and other state officials across Florida, where the driving distance from the state capitol of Tallahassee to Miami is nearly 500 miles.
During Scott’s tenure, other state officials typically logged thousands of miles and hundreds of hours traveling by car.