Ron DeSantis responds to Democrat critics after shipping weapons to Israel

Ron DeSantis responds to Democrat critics after shipping weapons to Israel

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to criticism Friday that he was acting more like a president and neglecting his duties as governor after he helped ship weaponry to Israel and assisted in evacuating U.S. citizens from Tel Aviv.

DeSantis told FOX News he was simply "filling a void" left by what he suggested to be an insufficient response at the federal level.

"What we found after a day or two is that people were stranded. They weren't getting help from the State Department. They weren't getting help from the embassy there in Jerusalem. And so I did an executive order in Florida, and we were able to scramble planes and bring back mostly Floridians… [and] Americans who were stranded," he said Friday on "America Reports."

Israel's consul-general in Miami, Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, told the Tampa Bay Times weaponry parts had indeed been scheduled to fly as cargo on an El Al Airlines flight to Israel earlier in October and that DeSantis aides approached him for assistance.

The Times further reported additional manifests of donations from U.S. citizens were transported to Israel on Florida's dime, to which White House spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said it is legal for state governors to offer "foreign assistance.