TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an exclusive one-on-one interview that he has the best job in the world and feels like he is in a place where he can get things done.
It has been just under six months since DeSantis became governor.
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During his inauguration, he promised to be an energetic executive and he has delivered, crisscrossing the state almost daily.
DeSantis said so far, he’d take being governor over being back in Congress.
“Oh, I mean, it’s about a hundred times better. In Congress, you are one of 435,” DeSantis said.
And why wouldn’t he? He controls millions of dollars and appoints who he wants to shape state policy in his own image.
“You know, as governor, you have the ability to put things on the agenda and get things done,” DeSantis said.
Polling by Quinnipiac University shows Florida voters approve of the job he is doing by a 55 to 22 margin. Among the GOP, it is a whopping 83%.
“I think people see that if you are doing things that kind of have the people’s interests at heart and you’re making good decisions, and they appreciate that,” DeSantis said.
The governor makes just more than $130,000. But while in Congress, he made $174,000.
Unlike Florida's previous governor, DeSantis is not a rich man. His net worth was reported at just more than $310,000 in July 2018.
Though he's taking a $43,000 pay cut, he said that has not been a problem.
“You get a house. It’s less about that than about the ability to do more, I think,” DeSantis said. "You can really accomplish a lot more as governor than you can as just one member, particularly a junior member.”
With the house comes a security detail and the intangible. The governor gets to come home at night and spend it with his two children.
DeSantis appears to be living up to the old adage that if you’ve got a job you really love, it’s not really work.