Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has positioned himself at the front of the line to be the 2024 GOP nominee, conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argued on Saturday.

"It's just that this time the theory is less a message than a man: Right now, the party's autopsy for 2020, and its not-Trump hopes for 2024, are made flesh in the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis," he argued. "The proximate cause of the enthusiasm for DeSantis is his handling of the pandemic, and the media's attempted manhandling of him. When the Florida governor began reopening Florida last May, faster than some experts advised, he was cast as a feckless mini-Trump, the mayor from 'Jaws' (complete with open, crowded beaches), the ultimate case study in 'Florida Man' stupidity."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is adamantly refusing to consider increasing unemployment benefits in his state as many workers are still struggling due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a news conference held on Friday, April 16, the Republican governor was asked about the possibility of him supporting an increase in unemployment benefits, reports The Tampa Bay Times. Currently, the state is paying unemployed workers $275 per week, an amount considered to be one of the lowest in the United States. While state lawmakers insist the amount is not substantial, DeSantis made it clear that he has a different take.

A new favorite has emerged among possible Republican presidential successors to Donald Trump.

Wealthy GOP donors are lining up behind the 2022 re-election campaign for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is moving past former vice president Mike Pence and other potential contenders should Trump choose to sit out the 2024 presidential race, reported Politico.

Republicans are starting to respond to questions from the press about Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and allegations that he was involved in a sex trafficking scandal with a former Republican tax collector.

In recent news, it was revealed that Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg has been cooperating with the Justice Department since last year on issues involving Gaetz. Greenberg has since agreed to plead guilty to charges against him, leading many to believe there was a plea agreement that involved Gaetz. Greenberg's lawyer made it clear, "I'm sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today."

It has been less than a week since YouTube axed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' video questioning the effectiveness of masks, and now he is back with another roundtable discussion restating his previous claims.

On Monday, April 12, DeSantis and a group of scientists — including Dr. Scott Atlas, Stanford University's Jay Bhattacharya, and Harvard professor Dr. Martin Kulldorff — met again to discuss COVID-19. However, the stage quickly transformed into an outlet for the group to discuss their grievances about the influence of Big Tech power of censorship by way of social media, according to The Herald Tribune.

Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn't want anything to do with the expanding problems of Florida Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and former tax collector Joel Greenberg.

According to Florida Politics, DeSantis dodged questions about Gaetz on Monday when asked. The two men seemed attached at the hip during the 2018 election, appearing at several events together. There don't appear to be any photos of the two men anywhere on DeSantis' campaign page, but there certainly are on Gaetz's page.

Controversial Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "elbowed his way to the front of the line of 2024 Republican hopefuls" according to a new report in The New York Times.

The newspaper says DeSantis is now "perhaps the most recognizable Republican governor in the country and a favorite of the party faithful. In turn, he has become a polarizing leader in the resistance to lengthy pandemic lockdowns, ignoring the advice of some public health experts in ways that have left his state's residents bitterly divided over the costs and benefits of his actions."

Civil rights and free speech advocates on Friday decried the advancement in the Florida Senate of a controversial bill that the ACLU says "aims to silence, criminalize, and penalize Floridians for exercising their First Amendment right to protest."

The appropriations committee of the GOP-controlled Florida Senate voted Friday to approve House Bill 1 (pdf), which was first proposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last September in the wake of Black Lives Matter and other racial justice protests that followed the police killing of unarmed Black people including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is pushing back against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) extension of the pandemic-related "no-sail" order for cruise lines.

According to the Miami Herald, DeSantis has filed a lawsuit against the public health agency in an attempt to expedite cruise ships returning to sea. In a press conference held on Thursday, April 8, DeSantis was joined by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R), and Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Jose "Pepe" Diaz (R) as he explained his reason for taking legal action.

The US state of Florida is suing the Biden administration to allow cruise ships to start sailing after a year-long moratorium on operations due to the coronavirus pandemic, the governor's office said Thursday.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, whose state relies heavily on tourism dollars, authorized the lawsuit against the sailing ban, calling the original order "unlawful."

Embattled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is now receiving pressure to resign from inside his own Republican caucus.

"Matt Gaetz needs to resign," Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) tweeted on Thursday evening.

Donald Trump probably is not happy about this.

The Republican National Committee last week mailed supporters a fundraising letter and survey of GOP 2024 presidential hopefuls over the signature of RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. The letter was remarkable, not for what it said, but what it didn't say.