TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 In a twist, the state of Florida\u2019s top higher education board voted Tuesday against a contract for Santa Ono, who was set to be the next president of the University of Florida. The decision came after growing opposition on the right to Ono’s past statements about diversity, equity and inclusion, Covid and transgender rights, among other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has prided itself on being at the vanguard of the national conservative movement. But the rejection of Ono, the former president of the University of Michigan, put DeSantis in a thorny political position, and it was a notable outcome in a state Republican ecosystem generally defined by donors and influential figures\u2019 getting their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of DeSantis\u2019 longtime biggest political supporters \u2014 Mori Hosseini, the billionaire chair of the University of Florida Board of Trustees \u2014 strongly backed Ono\u2019s bid to become president of the state\u2019s flagship university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, national conservatives, including Christopher Rufo, an activist who\u2002built his reputation<\/a> fighting racial sensitivity trainings and critical race theory courses; Rep. Byron Donalds<\/a>, R-Fla., a Trump ally running for governor; and Donald Trump Jr. argued that Ono\u2019s past support for DEI policies made him unqualified for the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWTF! Have the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!???\u201d Trump Jr. wrote on X\u2002<\/a>last month. \u201cThis woke psycho might be a perfect fit for a Communist school in California, but how is he even being considered for this role in Florida?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery single member of the Florida Board of Governors should vote against him!!!\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Trump advisers familiar with the issue said his post did not speak for the White House, which was not officially engaged in the fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump Jr.\u2019s post amplified one from Rufo<\/a>, whom DeSantis has praised and whom he appointed to a separate university board in the state in 2023. Rufo’s message blasted Ono for a video in which he promoted “equity and inclusion … embedded in all areas of academic work\u201d when he was president and vice chancellor at the University of British Columbia in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ono\u2019s record on DEI policies, the handling of the Covid pandemic <\/strong>and issues like environmental justice were heavily scrutinized Tuesday at the meeting of the Florida Board of Governors, the state\u2019s top education board, which needed to vote to ratify Ono\u2019s new contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ono said repeatedly that he had \u201cevolved\u201d on those issues at a hearing that lasted nearly four hours. But the board ultimately rejected him in a 10-6 vote, with notable \u201cno\u201d votes from DeSantis allies, including former state House Speakers Jose Oliva and Paul Renner, along with the outgoing leader of the state Education Department, Manny Diaz, whom DeSantis recently appointed to lead the University of West Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no way those guys vote against him without getting some signal from the governor,\u201d a longtime DeSantis adviser said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if anyone expected this, but if you look at the votes, I think that tells you where the governor is at.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four Florida Republicans told NBC News that their understanding was that DeSantis was initially behind Ono but that the national conservative backlash forced him to not fully put his support behind him publicly or make direct calls to the Board of Governors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But behind the scenes, his team was quietly discussing how to give him a push, according to two people familiar with the matter. One of them said DeSantis’ chief of staff, Jason Weida, was making calls in support of Ono ahead of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Underscoring the politically sensitive nature of the vote, DeSantis\u2019 political operation tried to claim some victory after it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSanta Ono is OUT,\u201d posted Jordan Schachtel<\/a>, a newly hired DeSantis political staffer. \u201cThe Florida Board of Governors has voted to Reject Ono as President of the University of Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFlorida has voted to reject wokeness, DEI, CRT, at our flagship university,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n