TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida Gov. Rick Scott's big party in Washington D.C. to celebrate the inauguration of President Donald Trump cost at least $600,000, according to campaign finance records.
Scott and First Lady Ann Scott in January hosted the Florida Sunshine Ball at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium two days before Trump's inauguration. Free tickets to the ball went to hundreds of people invited by the governor and first lady. Records show that Scott's political committee Let's Get to Work paid a company more than $609,000 to rent the auditorium, hire caterers and stage the event featuring The Beach Boys. Let's Get to Work regularly receives donations from some of the state's main corporate interests. In the last few weeks Duke Energy donated $100,000 as did private prison provider The Geo Group.