Donor lent DeSantis golf simulator for governor’s mansion: report

A wealthy donor provided Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) with a golf simulator for the governor’s mansion as well as private flights to fundraisers, according to a Washington Post investigation.

Mori Hosseini, the chair of the University of Florida board of trustees, lent a golf simulator system to DeSantis to be installed in the governor mansion gym, accessible only to the governor and his family. Models of the simulator range from $27,000 to nearly $70,000, the Post reported.

A DeSantis spokesman told The Hill that the donation was documented and approved by legal counsel as required and that the simulator would be used by the first family, staff and guests.

The donation may raise ethical concerns for DeSantis, especially as he runs for president in 2024. DeSantis a leading candidate, behind former President Trump, for the GOP nomination, picking up about 23 percent of support in recent polls.

Any ethics investigation would center on whether the golf system is classified as a personal gift, not allowed, or a gift meant for the mansion and not just the governor, which is permissible.

The Post investigation also found that Hosseini allowed DeSantis and his wife to use his private jet at least a dozen times. A close ally of DeSantis, Hosseini chaired his gubernatorial transition team and the finance piece of his inaugural committee.

Private flights may be donated under Florida law, but they must be documented.

According to public campaign finance records, Hosseini has donated more than $400,000 to DeSantis, related PACs and the Florida Republican Party.

DeSantis renewed Hosseini’s role as the chair of the University of Florida Board of Trustees in 2021.

Since 2021, DeSantis-supporting PACs have reported more than 50 in-kind transportation donations believed to be private jet flights, the Post found. Specific travel records of his time as governor can no longer be acquired via public records after DeSantis signed a law making them private last month.

Updated at 3:32 p.m.