Florida Republicans upend DeSantis' plans as state tries to align with Trump's immigration orders

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Source: NBC News

Florida Republicans upend DeSantis' plans as state tries to align with Trump's immigration orders

State GOP legislative leaders abruptly ended a special session called by Ron DeSantis and are pursuing their own immigration proposal, sparking an intraparty battle.

Jan. 27, 2025, 10:42 AM EST / Updated Jan. 27, 2025, 3:14 PM EST
By Matt Dixon

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — President Donald Trump’s push to quickly overhaul the nation’s immigration system is at the center of a civil war between Republicans in Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis facing off against the GOP-dominated state Legislature.

DeSantis earlier this month called lawmakers back to Tallahassee for a special legislative session with the explicit purpose of aligning state law with an expected wave of immigration-focused executive orders from Trump.

But Republican leaders in both the state House and Senate, who had previously panned DeSantis' plans as "premature," abruptly ended the special session Monday morning and quickly called their own.

The move effectively killed all the legislation already filed by DeSantis’ allies, and allowed Republican leadership to draw up their own immigration proposals, including language that puts the governor in a tricky political position. The plan from legislative leaders would take sweeping immigration oversight authority away from DeSantis and move it to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a statewide elected official who is eyeing a run for governor in 2026 and has had an icy relationship with DeSantis.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/florida-republicans-upend-desantis-trump-immigration-push-rcna189363

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