Hear ye, hear ye: Woe unto any Republican who stands athwart Donald Trump and his second-term agenda.
This is a message that has come through loud and clear from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, with influential folks like Charlie Kirk promising to primary any GOPer—particularly those from deep-red states—who doesn’t stand with the president-elect.
.@charliekirk11 says he has a criteria for which Republicans should face a serious primary challenge.
1) They represent a “deep, deep red state”
2) A pattern of not listening to voters on core issues
3) They don’t support Trump’s cabinet nominees pic.twitter.com/IRXDBua9bM— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) December 30, 2024
Some Republicans in Donald Trump’s home state of Florida may find themselves on the receiving end of MAGA’s wrath, not to mention the ire of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s supporters, as they push back against the governor’s call for a special legislative session to move quickly on a slate of matters, chief among them Trump’s immigration agenda.
DeSantis made the special session announcement Monday morning:
Today, I called for a special session of the Florida legislature the week of January 27 to prepare Florida to lead on the Trump Administration’s deportation program. We will allocate resources and ensure state and local officials in Florida are supporting these efforts.
We have no time to waste. Florida must lead.
While we are in special session, we should also address key issues facing our state: ballot initiative integrity, disaster relief, and condominium regulations.
Despite past clashes with Trump, DeSantis indicated he is committed to working with the administration and taking quick action on the president-elect’s ambitious plan to seal the southern border and begin mass deportations.
“State and local officials in Florida must help the Trump administration enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” DeSantis said. “In order to do that effectively, we are going to need legislation to impose additional duties on local officials and provide funding for those local officials.”
Predictably, Democrats in Florida pushed back on DeSantis, with one, Orlando State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, saying, “This is about the Governor drawing attention to himself after the inauguration for political purposes.”
Another Democrat, Orlando State Rep. Anna Eskamani, decried the governor wanting to move fast on the issue of illegal immigration reform, complaining, “This is a waste of taxpayer money. It is another attempt by Governor DeSantis to make a political spectacle on the goal of dividing us instead of bringing us together.”
Somewhat less predictably, Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez, both of whom are Republicans, also balked at convening on January 27 to proceed with immigration reform, stating they would decide “when and what legislation we consider.”
— Daniel Perez (@Daniel_PerezFL) January 13, 2025
Albritton and Perez maintained they “are strong supporters of President Trump and stand ready to follow his lead,” but insisted it was “completely irresponsible” for DeSantis “to get out ahead of any announcements” by the Trump administration.
DeSantis was undaunted by the blowback from his own party, and reiterated that the special session would indeed take place on January 27.
President-elect Trump was elected with a mandate to stop illegal immigration and deport illegal aliens already in our country.
State and local officials in Florida will actively facilitate the Trump Administration’s policies against illegal immigration, and to do that we need to… pic.twitter.com/PHvNYvjAH6
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 13, 2025
President-elect Trump was elected with a mandate to stop illegal immigration and deport illegal aliens already in our country.
State and local officials in Florida will actively facilitate the Trump Administration’s policies against illegal immigration, and to do that we need to immediately set aside and approve the necessary funding and resources now.
As part of the special session I called for January 27, the week after President Trump is sworn in, I am calling on the legislature to appropriate funding for detention, relocation, transportation infrastructure, local law enforcement support, and everything else needed for Florida to carry out this mission.
Trump and his incoming border czar, Tom Homan, have made it clear that dealing with the border and initiating mass deportations, starting with the criminal elements, are top priorities for the new administration, with actions expected to begin on Day One of Trump 2.0.
Florida Republicans like Albritton and Perez should likewise make it clear that they are on board with that plan by convening DeSantis’s special session on January 27. MAGA will be watching.
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