PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Tensions have escalated among Florida Republicans, with Governor Ron DeSantis criticizing state House leadership for defying voter expectations and Speaker Daniel Perez countering with claims of mismanagement.
👥 Who’s Involved: Key figures include Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez.
📍 Where & When: The dispute is ongoing in Florida and has recently been highlighted in statements and social media posts, with the crisis escalating in late April.
💬 Key Quote: DeSantis stated, “…the FL House leadership is at war with the voters who provided the supermajority…” Perez countered that DeSantis “has become the swamp.”
⚠️ Impact: This internal conflict may impact Florida’s political dynamics as Republicans hold significant legislative power in the state.
IN FULL:
Tensions between Republicans in the Florida state legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) continue to rise, with the latter now publicly chastising the Republican House leadership. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gov. DeSantis asserted that Republican legislative leaders in the state are moving in opposition to the wishes of voters that granted them a supermajority in the Florida House and Senate.
Earlier this week, DeSantis wrote, “…the FL House leadership is at war with the voters who provided the supermajority in the first place.” Additionally, the Republican governor blasted legislative leaders for adopting a “swamp-centric agenda.” However, House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) contends it is DeSantis who has “become the swamp.”
The National Pulse reported in early April that Gov. DeSantis had blasted Florida Republican legislators for pushing a radical green agenda through the state’s legislature instead of taking up his plan to eliminate Florida’s sales tax. Lawmakers in the Republican legislative supermajority joined with Democrats to push forward a plan creating a far-left state task force charged with developing a framework to implement a carbon sequestration program in the state.
Florida’s term-limit laws have left DeSantis a lame-duck governor, which has emboldened ‘Republican In Name Only’ (RINO) legislators. However, the House Speaker contends that legislative moderates are not the problem, instead pointing the finger at DeSantis himself.
“Unfortunately, what we’ve seen in Florida is a Governor who’s turned into exactly what he promised to fight—he’s become the swamp,” Perez said, adding: “His latest attacks are nothing more than a distraction from the gross financial mismanagement happening under his watch. We’re talking about thousands of missing state vehicles, $160 million unaccounted for at AHCA, and a growing list of problems across agencies and boards—all controlled by the Governor.”
The Florida Republican quasi-civil war could jeopardize DeSantis’s tax reform efforts and stoke voter anger, placing the Republican legislative supermajority at risk.
