Seeking to drum up support in the Panhandle Friday in his political fight with the Legislature, Gov. Ron DeSantis called upon Floridians to press their lawmakers on the immigration bill he has vowed to veto.
The dispute between the governor and the Republican-led Legislature escalated this week following lawmakers’ decision to ditch DeSantis’ immigration proposals and pass their own. Since then, the governor has held press conferences around the state to bash the bill, known as the TRUMP Act.
During his latest stop in Destin, DeSantis told the crowd not to accept talking points from their representatives in the Legislature. He made the ask multiple times during the press conference.
“You have your marching orders,” DeSantis said at the Destin Executive Airport. “Who here is going to call or email their House or Senate member? Very respectfully. Be nice, ’cause these are good folks. Be nice, be very respectful, but be very clear about what your expectations are.”
The governor’s comments follow a shaming campaign against the Republican supermajority, including a promise to back primary challengers to legislators opposing him on immigration. Brevard County Republican Sen. Randy Fine, who will likely win an election to Congress in April, called the governor a bully on X Thursday night.
“I’d debate Ron DeSantis, any of his staffers, or any of the other seven Republican legislators in either chamber who oppose the bill. … Ron won’t do it because bullies run away from those who aren’t afraid of them. Because they are afraid,” Fine wrote. “They hide in stage-managed crowds, free of anyone who might show that the Emperor has no clothes.”
Although the Legislature passed the TRUMP Act on Tuesday night, the House still hasn’t sent the bill to the governor, a choice DeSantis also criticized during the press conference. There is no deadline for the Legislature to send the bill to the governor’s desk.
“Why have they not sent me the bill yet to act on? Why are they holding the bill for me to act on?” he said. “And I think the reason is because if we get the bill and we do an event where we have a lot of people and I veto the bill in front of this crowd, is the crowd gonna cheer or is the crowd gonna boo? The crowd’s gonna cheer.”
In multiple TV and radio appearances, House Speaker Daniel Perez has stated that “all options are on the table” when DeSantis vetoes the bill, including an override. However, the leaders would need two-thirds support for the TRUMP Act in both chambers, which they didn’t have in the Senate on Tuesday, when six Republicans opposed it.
Both the legislative leaders and DeSantis have blasted each other’s proposals for not being strong enough in punishing undocumented immigrants. But DeSantis’ biggest problem with the TRUMP Act is that it strips his immigration enforcement powers and gives them to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
A spokesperson for Perez did not immediately respond to Florida Phoenix’s request for comment.