Florida has cut its debt by more than half since DeSantis took office, from $17.5 billion to roughly $8.7 billion. The state achieved this through dedicated budget allocations toward debt repayment. What the post omits: state debt reduction is structurally different from federal debt (states cannot run continuous deficits), and achieving this required difficult budget prioritization—Democratic lawmakers have questioned what wasn't funded to make these payments. The figures cited come from a private website tracking state debt, not official state records, so the precise amounts and retirement rates should be verified through official state sources.