Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) is currently running for the open Congressional District 1, which was held by former Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) during his bid for U.S. Attorney General. In the latest campaign update from CFO Patronis, the Congressional hopeful shared that he would join the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) Congressional Caucus if elected.
His main focus as a part of the DOGE Congressional Caucus would be to address the surprising number of work-from-home employees of the federal government whose agency's operating budget surpasses $1 billion annually.
“If Washington had the customer service of a Mar-A-Lago and the operational output of a Tesla factory, then maybe Americans would feel better about how their taxpayer money was being used. But, that’s not the case. Americans are working long hours and sending their cash to a bloated, barely functioning federal bureaucracy,” said Patronis. “Reports that only 6% of federal employees are working in the office on a full-time basis are infuriating. It’s not sustainable. It's horrible for developing team synergy, and frankly, when we’ve got men and women throughout the U.S. working hard jobs who can’t phone-it-in, so we don’t need the public servants who are supposed to support them working in their pajamas.”
Furthermore, Patronis said he intends to return taxpayer money to his district.
If entire sectors of the federal workforce can telework, then those jobs should be contracted out,” said the Florida CFO. “Let’s reduce the government’s footprint and return money back to taxpayers in the Panhandle.”
Patronis has received the endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump (R) and other GOP leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
During the Army vs. Navy football game this past Saturday, Patronis aired his Trump-centered campaign ad for Congress, his first of the cycle.
Both President-elect Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis were in attendance at the game in Maryland while Patronis' 30-second ad aired.
In the ad, titled "Yes sir," Patronis used the airtime to better tie himself to the former and future president in the crowded Republican field, hoping to set himself further apart from the nine other conservatives in the Congressional District 1 race.
The Special Primary Election Day is scheduled for January 28, 2025, and the Special General Election is slated for April 1, 2025.
