DeSantis in Unusual Standoff With Republican Lawmakers Over His Call for a Special Session To Boost Trump’s Deportation Plans

Governor DeSantis is facing something he’s rarely seen during his time in the governor’s mansion as Republican state lawmakers appear ready to buck his call for a special session in Florida to pass a series of immigration proposals. Mr. DeSantis is trying to show his support for President Trump’s priorities on issues ranging from what to call the Gulf of Mexico to immigration to plans for mass deportation. However, it appears that after roughly six years of mostly having the GOP-controlled state legislature go along with his priorities, he is facing resistance. The governor called a five-day special session to be held Monday to take up a series of immigration-related proposals, such as getting rid of in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants, requiring state and local law enforcement officials to cooperate with federal immigration officers, and increasing penalties for illegal immigrants who try to vote. The regular legislative session isn’t scheduled to begin until March. Mr. DeSantis cast the special session as a way for the Sunshine State — which is estimated to be home to about 1 million undocumented migrants — to take advantage of a “unique opportunity to help facilitate the end to America’s immigration crisis.”Republican leaders in the state have a different opinion. The House speaker, Daniel Perez, and Senate president, Ben Albritton, have called the special session “premature.” They also pointed out that while the governor offered a series of proposals, he did not present “any actual bill language” for the legislature to act on. As of Friday, it was unclear whether legislators would show up for the special session. During an interview on Fox News, a Republican state senator, Randy Fine, said of the governor’s call for a special session, “This is a stunt. This isn’t real.”“To call a special session for five days without even having a bill ready to go himself, it just shows the entire exercise was never serious,” he said. “It was about getting on Fox News.”Mr. Fine also pointed out the lack of a draft of legislation, saying, “I have never been part of a special session that was not prepackaged. The process of designing, discussing, and collaborating on bills… takes time.”As state lawmakers question the need for the session and whether it is an attempt by Mr. DeSantis to stay relevant, it is unclear whether any work will be accomplished. It is possible that lawmakers will return to Tallahassee on Monday and open the special session but leave after a short period of time without addressing any of the proposals put forward by the governor.Mr. DeSantis is trying to ramp up pressure on legislators and said during an interview on Fox News this week that it would be “very, very hazardous politically” for lawmakers to simply adjourn the special session without getting any work done. At a roundtable event at Jacksonville, he also said he would call another special session if lawmakers do not show up on Monday. Florida is not the only state slated to hold a special session on Monday. The governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, also announced a special session for Monday. Lawmakers in Tennessee will primarily be focused on a school voucher program, but they will also consider a variety of immigration proposals, such as creating an office to coordinate with federal immigration officials.

DeSantis in Unusual Standoff With Republican Lawmakers Over His Call for a Special Session To Boost Trump’s Deportation Plans

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