TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The foundation tied to a signature initiative of Florida’s first lady is now facing scrutiny beyond Tallahassee, as two members of Congress are calling for a federal investigation into a $10 million donation to the Hope Florida Foundation.

U.S. representatives Kathy Castor and Darren Soto, both Florida Democrats, have signed a letter urging the acting inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the funding, which came from a larger, $67 million state settlement with Centene, a Medicaid company.

Shortly after, Hope Florida granted the money to two nonprofit groups which, around the same time, donated millions to political efforts aligned with Governor Ron DeSantis and his then-chief of staff, Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“It sure looks fishy,” Castor told 10 Tampa Bay in an interview. “It is unlawful to divert Medicaid funds away from patients and providers. So I’ve asked the HHS inspector general and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to take a look into if there are any laws that are being violated, to hold folks accountable, and to try to recoup the dollars that rightfully should go to patients and providers.”

The request comes on the heels of a halted legislative probe in Tallahassee, where some state lawmakers had raised concerns it was an improper use of taxpayer money.

“This is looking more and more like a conspiracy to use Medicaid money for campaign activity,” State Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola), who chaired the committee that was probing the program, said last month.

Since state lawmakers first launched their probe several weeks ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis and first lady Casey DeSantis have fiercely pushed back against allegations of wrongdoing.

“This is a manufactured hoax, and you have liberal media and liberal Democrats pushing this,” the governor said during an event at Pensacola State College last month.

Hope Florida is the brainchild of first lady Casey DeSantis, who established the program to connect in-need Floridians with resources in an effort to eventually get them off government assistance.

During a stop in Brandon last week to tout the program they say has helped tens of thousands of people, the first lady dismissed the allegations as “slanderous, false accusations.”

Gov. DeSantis also called the claims political attacks and pointed to a letter from the Agency for Health Care Administration, which signed off on the settlements, stating the funding was not from “Medicaid money” and the donation was “neither illegal nor illicit.”

“I think the agency handled it well. Clearly, what they did was appropriate and legally sound, and that’s been demonstrated, I think, very clearly,” the governor said Wednesday.

“I mean, anything that has gone goes to fulfill the Hope Florida mission. That’s just the reality. Now, that’s done separately from the state. It’s done through a board of directors. There’s applications,” Gov. DeSantis added.

A bill to codify Hope Florida into state law recently failed to pass through the Legislature this session. The foundation’s executive director resigned last month.