Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried questioned whether former Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch is a scapegoat for the state’s mishandling of the food assistance program
Hatch resigned July 3 as the state could face a reported $1 billion penalty over its high error rate for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“We may get billed a significant portion of dollars … and that is just not acceptable. So somebody had to take the fall for it,” Fried told Florida Politics in a phone interview. “Unfortunately, you see in the DeSantis administration, the blame never stops with him. He blames everybody else.”
When reached for comment to respond, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary, Molly Best, shot back.
“Nobody cares what Nikki Fried believes. First, there was no state mismanagement of SNAP. In fact, it’s still possible that the error rate will end up falling beneath the 6% threshold. Secretary Hatch did an incredible job, and we are grateful for her service. She chose to pursue other opportunities, and while we were sad to see her go, we respected her decision.”
Florida’s error rate was 12.97% for Fiscal Year 2025, with 11.54% overpayments and 1.43% underpayments. The allowable threshold, however, is 6%.
“These payment error rates are further proof that state accountability is severely lacking in SNAP,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins in a statement last month. “USDA has taken historic action to help interested states curb SNAP waste, and I hope other states, regardless of political leadership, prioritize needy families and the American taxpayer over politics.”
State lawmakers also acknowledged Florida’s problem.
“We’ve got to do something about it,” Sen. Don Gaetz said during the 2026 Legislative Session, “not only because we want to avoid a federal penalty, but because it is absolutely terrible economic stewardship.”
Fried, Florida’s former Agriculture Commissioner, questioned whether DeSantis was willing to start moving to improving SNAP during the final months of his term.
“I, unfortunately, have no confidence that the DeSantis administration is taking this seriously and trying to fix the problem. I’m thinking he’s just going to try to wash it away until the end of his administration and let the next administration handle that problem,” Fried said.
Fried is concerned that some SNAP recipients might lose assistance as the state deals with the ramifications of a potential big fine. She feared the state might add more layers to make it difficult to access SNAP at a time when the economic situation is already hard for many Floridians, including teachers who apply for food assistance, she said.
“DeSantis every opportunity he has, he has tried to skirt around providing resources and safety nets to some of our most vulnerable individuals here in our state,” she said.
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