'Irresponsible': Ron DeSantis smacked down by Florida GOP for Trump suck-up bid
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to be front and center on voters' minds when they think of President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation plans — but it seems GOP legislative leaders in Florida aren't so sold.
According to The Associated Press, DeSantis "is calling state lawmakers into a special session to help carry out President-elect Donald Trump’s promises for a swift crackdown on immigration," announcing on Monday that "he’s scheduling the special session for the week of Jan. 27, the week after Trump is sworn in, so that state lawmakers will be poised to help implement the incoming president’s policies immediately."
“State and local officials in Florida must help the Trump administration enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” DeSantis said in his announcement. “In order to do that effectively, we are going to need legislation to impose additional duties on local officials and provide funding for those local officials.”
He even threatened to suspend any local law enforcement officials in Florida who don't help him — not necessarily an idle threat, as he has previously suspended independently elected local prosecutors over policy disagreements.
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But according to the Orlando Sentinel, leaders in the Florida legislature are pushing back hard, saying there's no need for a special session and pointing out DeSantis doesn't even know what the federal government's immigration plans are going to look like yet.
“It is completely irresponsible to get out ahead of any announcements President Trump will make, especially when uninformed or ill-timed state action could potentially impair or impede the success of President Trump’s forthcoming efforts to end illegal immigration,” said Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Danny Perez in a joint statement.
DeSantis, who largely owes his governorship to a 2018 endorsement from Trump, originally ran against Trump in the 2024 primary for president, but lost badly after a furious campaign with lots of back-and-forth insults.
Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell lost no time mocking the governor over his inability to unify his own party around a strategy. "For those who questioned whether Ron DeSantis' influence has waned ... DeSantis is now a lame-duck governor who got pummeled by Trump and had his 2028 ambitions dashed as well. The GOP Speaker & Senate prez shut him down in just a few hours, saying: 'completely irresponsible,'" he posted to X.