Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appears to be thinking about his political future as he toned down his rhetoric against Florida state lawmakers who defied him over an immigration bill.
DeSantis spent several days attacking the GOP-led Florida Legislature after it rejected his immigration proposals, which aimed to help President Donald Trump mandate his own hard-line immigration plans on January 27. Instead, lawmakers advanced their own legislative package.
The Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act incorporated some of DeSantis’ priorities, such as ending tuition waivers for undocumented students, but rejected others. The TRUMP Act also names Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson as the state’s chief immigration officer, rather than someone from DeSantis’ office.
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The governor did not take the legislative defiance lightly. He accused the bill spearheaded by Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, both Republicans, of being “substantially weaker” than his proposal. He also likened giving immigration authority to Simpson to putting a “fox in charge of the henhouse,” suggesting that farmers rely on the cheap labor of illegal immigrants.
‘We’ll Land the Plane’
In a January 29 post on X, formerly Twitter, DeSantis warned that he planned to veto the TRUMP Act if it reached his desk. The governor continued his attacks, including threatening to fund primary challenges against lawmakers supporting the bill.
However, on Monday, DeSantis appeared to change his tone and signaled a willingness to negotiate. Speaking at a press conference, he said, “We’ll land the plane,” and that an agreement would be reached. He also praised the Legislature, acknowledging that it had played a “huge role” in advancing his agenda over the years.
Political analysts suggest DeSantis may be looking ahead to his future by reigning in his fiery combativeness against the pro-Trump Florida Legislature.
With the Florida Constitution barring him from seeking a third consecutive term as governor, DeSantis is set to leave office in January 2027. Trump is also unable to seek a third term, creating the possibility that DeSantis could make another presidential run in 2028 without directly facing Trump in the GOP primary.
DeSantis would need to win over Trump’s loyal MAGA base if he has any chance of going beyond his 2024 campaign, which ended after the first-in-the-nation Republican Iowa caucuses.
Michael Binder, a professor of political science at the University of North Florida, told Newsweek that if DeSantis plans to run for president again, he would want to highlight “successful governing, not personal infighting.”
Florida lawmakers rejecting DeSantis’ immigration proposals and calling their own special session marks the biggest pushback the governor has faced during his time in office. Over the past six years, DeSantis has largely been free to push his agenda, including his frequent battles against what he calls the “woke” agenda.
Binder compared the legislative resistance to when “all the kids band together to stand up” to a school bully.
‘Falling Star’
Sean Freeder, an assistant professor of political science at the University of North Florida, told Newsweek that DeSantis likely recognized he would lose a “game of chicken” against the Legislature, which is now more aligned with Trump than with the governor.
“This is less a policy debate and closer to policy theater,” Freeder told Newsweek. “Republican legislators who had been satisfied to give DeSantis unprecedented control in previous years, such as redrawing the post-census district maps, are now complaining about the idea of giving him appointment-level control over these immigration funds and directives.
“What has changed is not their opinion of unitary executives, but rather their increasing desire to not tie themselves to a falling star in DeSantis, who will be out of office in 2027 and face Trump-laden challenges to win other offices.”
Ahead of the 2024 election, DeSantis was seen as a potential alternative to Trump following the latter’s 2020 election defeat and the GOP’s underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterms.
However, like every other candidate in the 2024 GOP primary, DeSantis was unable to overcome Trump’s overwhelming influence and support. Trump is likely to remain a major figure in the open 2028 primary season, despite not running himself.
DeSantis may now need to spend the next three years once again arguing that he is the natural successor to Trump, starting with those in the now strongly Republican state of Florida.
‘Stay in a Place of Relevance’
“The governor can be called a lot of things, but I don’t believe stupid is one of them,” Binder told Newsweek. “He can do the math. A unified supermajority can override all kinds of vetoes. A slew of veto overrides from your own party looks much worse than legislation signing press events—and come Iowa in the winter of 2027-28, he’s going to want to point to successful governing, not personal infighting.”
During his Monday press conference, DeSantis said the dispute over the immigration bill was only temporary.
“Are we doing what we told the voters we were going to do?” DeSantis said. “And if you do that, you’re going to see everyone be happy, and then we can move on to the next set of issues. I think it was an aberration last week. I do think we’re going to be united on this issue, and then we can move forward.”
When contacted by Newsweek for further comment, Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis’ press secretary, said: “I believe the governor’s comment speaks for itself.”
In an interview with CBS News Miami on Sunday, Florida Speaker Perez said DeSantis is just trying to “stay in a place of relevance” by arguing against the immigration bill as he enters his final two years in office.
“Our bill is, quite frankly, just stronger than his. And that’s unfortunate, because I look at him as a partner,” Perez said.
