DeSantis signs book deal: report

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has reportedly signed a book deal.

Politico, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported on Thursday that the Florida governor has accepted a "lucrative book deal with HarperCollins."

One source inside the publishing industry told Politico that DeSantis had previously agreed to a book deal with Simon and Schuster that was valued at almost $2 million, but ultimately pulled out of the deal after discovering that the publisher is owned by Paramount, the same parent company of CBS News' "60 Minutes" - which published an investigation into the state's vaccine rollout in April.

DeSantis denied the report, which claimed that the governor funneled the state's COVID-19 vaccines to wealthy communities and privatized the rollout of the inoculation to benefit donors, leaving many minorities struggling to get a shot. The long-running news program, however, defended the segment.

HarperCollins is a branch of News Corp, which is a media company led by the Murdoch family.

HarperCollins declined to comment. The Hill reached out to DeSantis and Simon & Schuster for comment.

The reported book would be the second DeSantis has published. In 2011 he published "Dreams From Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama," which was published by HPH Publishing.

News of DeSantis penning another book comes as speculation swirls regarding a potential 2024 presidential campaign. A January poll found that the Florida governor would be an early GOP favorite in the 2024 presidential race if former President Trump does not wage another bid.

That speculation, however, has caused elevated tensions between Trump and DeSantis.

Last month, Trump appeared to knock DeSantis, without mentioning him by name, for not disclosing if he has received a booster shot. The former president said politicians who do not reveal their booster status are "gutless."