Miami's Republican Mayor Francis Suarez announced on Thursday that he will be running for president in 2024, despite an ongoing investigation into payments he allegedly received from a real estate developer to push a project.
Suarez, the only Hispanic candidate in the GOP primary race, announced his presidential campaign in a 2-minute video he posted on Twitter in which he spoke about his achievements throughout his tenure as mayor of the Florida city. He is expected to deliver remarks later on Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
"My dad taught me that you get to choose your battles, and I am choosing the biggest one of my life. I'm going to run for president, I'm going to run for your children and mine. Let's give them the future they deserve. It's time to take things into our own hands. It's time to get things started," he said in the video.
His presidential bid comes amid allegations that he received payments from developer Rishi Kapoor to help with permitting issues standing in the way of a $70 million project in Coconut Grove, the Miami Herald first reported.
The Herald's report cited internal financial statements revealing that Kapoor paid Suarez at least $170,000 since 2021. The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust later launched a joint investigation with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, looking into Suarez's dealings with Kapoor.
Meanwhile, Kapoor is being investigated by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly hiring Suarez as a consultant for $10,000 a month for the Coconut Grove project, The Miami Times reported.
"I do everything according to the law. I think it's important that my reputation is one that has been unimpeachable for the last 13 years," Suarez told NBC Miami last week. "When you start talking about running for higher office, these kinds of things start to happen."
When the news station asked Suarez about the joint investigation launched by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, he said, "That doesn't concern me. It really is in some ways a preview of what's to come in terms of the scrutiny you are under. You have to accept that scrutiny."
Newsweek reached out to Suarez's media representatives via email for comment.
Suarez is former President Donald Trump's newest contender in seeking the 2024 GOP nomination, along with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.
The Miami mayor's presidential announcement comes shortly after Trump was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly mishandling classified documents taken from the White House after leaving office in January 2021. The former president is facing 37 federal charges, to which he pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
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About the writer
Fatma Khaled is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. politics, world ... Read more
