Tag: DeSantis

In a rebuke to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, the GOP-dominated Florida legislature on Monday quickly gaveled out a special session called by the two-term governor to take up a series of proposals to help implement President Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown.

State lawmakers then held their own special session, where they passed other immigration bills and also overrode a DeSantis budget veto, the first time in 15 years the legislature has overturned a Florida governor’s veto.

It was a dramatic turn of events for DeSantis, who long enjoyed massive influence over the Florida legislature, especially after his nearly 20-point re-election in 2022.

But following his unsuccessful 2024 White House bid, the now-lame duck governor doesn’t have the same clout over lawmakers that he once enjoyed.

‘THANK YOU RON’ – TRUMP PRAISES DESANTIS IMMIGRATION PUSH IN FLORIDA 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, speaks as Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, right, listens before President-elect Donald Trump talks at a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“This would have been unthinkable two years ago,” a Florida-based Republican strategist told Fox News.

The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, added that “it shows that he’s sunsetting and the legislature is not afraid to buck him.”

DeSantis wanted lawmakers to pass bills that would support the president’s flurry of immigration and border executive orders, signed since last Monday’s inauguration, and Trump’s plans for mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

The governor called for mandating that Florida’s counties and cities participate in the federal deportation program and wants the power to suspend officials who do not comply. He also proposed to make it a state crime to enter the nation illegally, and he wants to mandate that people show identification and their immigration status before sending money back home.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES QUICKLY ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

“We’ve got to make sure that we are working hand-in-hand with the Trump administration,” DeSantis emphasized last week in an interview on Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle.”

He added that the special legislative session would help “to facilitate the Trump administration’s mission.”

The Florida State Capitol Building, as seen in Tallahassee, Florida.  (Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)

Eleven bills were filed on the eve of the special session by Florida lawmakers. Among them are measures to create a state immigration czar and to allow the governor to activate the national and state guards for immigration enforcement.

Under Florida’s constitution, if the governor calls for a special session, lawmakers are obligated to show up at the capitol in Tallahassee. However, the top Republicans in the state House and Senate say that while they support Trump’s immigration efforts, the special session is unnecessary with the regularly scheduled legislative session scheduled for early March.

“It’s not premature,” DeSantis told Fox News. “We’ve been waiting four years to have a partner in Washington, D.C., on this issue. We have a sense of urgency. We have to get the job done. No more dragging your feet.” 

But lawmakers quickly adjourned and then held their own session.

“I believe special sessions should be used sparingly,” state House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Republican, said during his address to the House. “They should not be stunts designed to generate headlines.

GOP state Senate president Ben Albritton said “sometimes leadership isn’t about being out front on an issue. It’s actually about following the leader you trust. For my part, I trust President Trump,”

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, speaks at a campaign stop in Hampton, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

The governor, in a statement Monday afternoon, said “though the Florida legislature’s leadership initially said the call for a special session on immigration enforcement was “premature,” they have now finally agreed to come in and do their job.”

“I am glad the Legislature’s bill includes many of my proposals, including the long-overdue need to eliminate tuition waivers for illegal immigrant students. But overall, their new bill is substantially weaker than the proposals I outlined and that are necessary to ensure that Florida leads on fulfilling the Trump Administration’s mandate to enforce immigration law and deport illegal aliens,” he emphasized.

DeSantis, who waged a bitter and unsuccessful primary challenge against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was praised by the then-president-elect earlier this month.

“Thank you Ron, hopefully other governors will follow!” Trump wrote in a social media post after DeSantis announced the special session.

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Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor and bundler who raised big bucks for Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns, but who supporter DeSantis in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, told Fox News that “Gov. DeSantis is right about the issues that need to be addressed. This was just a matter of timing,”