Ileana Ydolia Garcia is a Republican politician from Florida, who serves as a member of the Florida Senate.
Early life
The daughter of Cuban exiles, Garcia grew up in Florida. Her career was in media, working in both television and radio.[1] Garcia is a Christian.[2]
Political career
She served as the first Hispanic female Deputy Press Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump. Garcia founded the group Latinas for Trump and in 2016 was the Trump campaign's communications Director for Latino outreach.[3][4]
In March 2022 during debate for the Parental Rights in Education bill in the Florida Senate, Ileana Garcia stated "Gay is not a permanent thing. LGBT is not a permanent thing, and it’s not a bad thing," and then told a personal story about a friend who is transgendered.[5] Garcia later apologized for failing “to convey the complexity and nuances of this matter.” and admonished those that that sent her threats of physical harm.[6]
In January 2024, Garcia proposed a bill to create a create a Defending Freedom Fighters Trust Fund that would provide up to $5 million to a Florida resident's that is "subject to political discrimination to pay for legal fees", potentially benefitting Donald Trump. Funds would have been provided by fees paid by candidates for political office and voluntary donations made by residents when they renew their driver’s license. Garcia later withdrew the bill after Florida governor Ron DeSantis expressed opposition and threatened to veto the bill.[7] “This bill was filed on January 5th amidst a crowded primary, including two Florida residents. My concern was the political weaponization against conservative candidates, and while (Patronis) brought me this bill at a time when all candidates were committing to campaign through the primary, one frontrunner now remains, and he can handle himself. I will be withdrawing the bill,” Said Sen. Garcia.[8]
Ileana Garcia has been an effective legislator, serving as Chair and Vice Chair of the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee, Vice chair of Community Affairs, Vice Chair of Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, Vice Chair of the Rules committee,[9] and has been named chair of Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice for 2025.[10]
Senator Garcia successfully brought millions of dollars to the communities she represents through appropriation requests, including money to help kids aging out of the foster care system, food banks, road improvements, numerous anti-flooding initiatives,[11] funding for the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial,[12] as well as millions of dollars for improvements and protections for Biscayne Bay.[13][14]
As Chair of the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee, Garcia focused on solutions for the most vulnerable in her community. She was the driving force behind the “No Patient Left Alone Act,”[15] strengthening patient visitation rights in hospitals, nursing homes, she filed legislation to guarantee nursing home patients the right to record their rooms,[16] and helped fund the Mia Casa facility for senior citizens experiencing homelessness.[17] Senator Garcia has successfully sponsored laws establishing a system in which schools can craft personalized “seizure action plans” for students with epilepsy[18] and provided funding for Nicklaus Children’s Epilepsy Program, a world-leader in treating children with medically resistant epilepsy.[19]
Garcia initiated measures to improve boating safety,[20] enhance background screenings apartment workers with potential access to living units,[21] put protections in place for minors on social media,[22] fought corruption in Condo Community Associations and Homeowners' Associations,[23][24] reformed Florida’s guardianship system,[25] combated human trafficking, and was appointed to the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking’s Board of Directors.[26]
Electoral History
2022
Florida Senate District 36 – General Election (2022) [27]
The 2020 Florida Senate District 37 results triggered a manual and machine recount. Garcia won by a narrow margin of 32 votes.[29] This election came under scrutiny by local news outlets due to the inclusion of independent candidate Alex Rodríguez on the ballot. Alex shares the same surname as then incumbent Democrat José Javier Rodríguez and received more than 6,000 without campaigning.[30] Former state senator Frank Artiles was arrested and found guilty of 3 counts of election fraud involved with funding Alex Rodríguez as a "ghost candidate."[31] Alex Rodriguez also plead guilty to two campaign finance charges in a plea deal to cooperate with the investigation into Artiles.[32] Miami-Dade County State Attorney emphasized there was no evidence that Senator Ileana Garcia knew of or partook in the plot, and Garcia has denied involvement.[11]
