Federal judge halts new Florida law he calls 'latest assault' on voting

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge on Monday blocked a new Florida election law pushed by Republicans that puts restrictions on voter registration groups, calling it “Florida’s latest assault on the right to vote.”

U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker granted a preliminary injunction against the law just days after it went into effect. Walker is an appointee of former President Barack Obama who has repeatedly ruled against the state in past legal challenges to election measures put in place by the GOP-controlled Legislature.

“When state government power threatens to spread beyond constitutional bounds and reduce individual rights to ashes, the federal judiciary stands as a firewall,” Walker wrote in his 58-page order that included a subtle jab at Gov. Ron DeSantis by invoking a catch phrase he often uses. “The free state of Florida is simply not free to exceed the bounds of the United States Constitution.”

The law, passed this spring by GOP legislators and signed into law by DeSantis, was a comprehensive measure that included a provision that cleared the way for the governor to run for president without having to resign his current position.

The legal challenges, however, came from several groups that register voters, including organizations that focus on registering Black and Hispanic voters. The new law includes restrictions on who could handle voter registration applications — blocking, for example, non-citizens even if they were legally allowed to work in the U.S. The new measure, which subjects the groups to steep fines, also barred organizations from retaining information about the new registrants. It also requires them to give a receipt when someone fills out a voter registration application.

Republicans and state officials argued the new restrictions were designed to crack down on groups that routinely turn in applications late and were needed to ensure non-citizens weren’t voting.

Walker, in his ruling, didn’t accept the logic of the state, nor did he agree to hold off on issuing his ruling while state election officials draw up more specific rules designed to implement the new law. The judge stated that Florida officials — while offering up proof that applications have been turned into late — did not demonstrate why the ban on non-U.S. citizens handling voter registration forms was needed.

“The state of Florida is correct to seek integrity in our electoral system,” Walker wrote. “Sound election laws ensure the people are heard without distortion from negligent and bad faith actors. Here, however, Florida’s solutions for preserving election integrity are too far removed from the problems it has put forward as justifications.”

Democrats who voted against the law, as well as the groups that challenged it, hailed the decision.

“Today’s ruling confirms what we knew from the very beginning: Florida’s latest voter registration law was unconstitutional and served no other purpose than to silence our communities,” said Frankie Miranda, CEO and president of the Hispanic Federation, one of the groups that challenged the law. “This ruling is a win for all Floridians — especially for underrepresented communities who rely on nonpartisan organizations like us to help make their voices heard. We applaud this ruling, and will not rest until everyone’s right to participate in our democracy is protected.”

DeSantis’ office, as well as legislative leaders and Secretary of State Cord Byrd, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But in the past, state officials have usually been fairly consistent about appealing decisions by Walker, who has a mixed track record of success with the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court this past April reversed a Walker ruling against a 2021 voting law that had placed restrictions on drop boxes.

Florida Republicans hand DeSantis first major legislative win

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature on Thursday sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis a sweeping crackdown on lawsuits despite protests from some members of his own party that the bill is a giveaway to insurance companies and is unfair to the families of crime victims.

The bill is the first of DeSantis’ legislative priorities lawmakers sent to his desk, setting up what is expected to be a string of legislative victories for the governor ahead of his expected run for president later this year. It also hands a stinging loss to trial attorneys, a group that has been one of the few constant sources of campaign donations to Democrats in the state.

Republican lawmakers, who hold supermajorities in the Legislature, are moving rapidly to carry out the governor’s wish list on everything from enacting new anti-immigration measures, revamping the death penalty, overhauling tenure and curriculum at universities to making it easier to sue the media for defamation and banning gender affirming care for minors.

But legislators moved the bill targeting lawsuits the fastest. DeSantis called for the changes ahead of the session, and it’s also a top priority of major special interest groups including the state’s main business lobbies.

The bill shortens the time plaintiffs can file negligence lawsuits and contains a provision that would help property owners in lawsuits alleging lax security.

Some of the biggest and potentially most consequential changes, however, center on the state’s insurance carriers. The measures — which include changes to how attorney fees are paid — are designed to bring down the number of lawsuits filed against insurance companies, including those where business customers are plaintiffs. Some of the changes have long been sought by insurers but have been rejected by previous GOP legislative leaders.

Insurance has been a volatile industry in Florida due, in part, to the high number of hurricanes that ravage the state. In recent years, insurance rates have shot up while at the same time enrollment has spiked in Citizens Property Insurance, the state-funded insurer of last resort. But supporters of the bill contend that the measure was needed to fix a “toxic lawsuit” environment in Florida.

“We have a fundamental problem in Florida when you turn on your TV or your radio and the ad says if you have been an injured call an attorney first,” said Sen. Travis Hutson, the main sponsor of the legislation who said people in the state try to win a “litigation jackpot.”

But other legislators — including a handful of Republicans who voted against the bill — said the legislation goes too far and will harm consumers. They expressed deep skepticism it would do anything to stem an ongoing rise in insurance rates.

“There are 22 million Floridians who will now be exposed to higher risk, less safety and fewer options to hold wrongdoers accountable,” said Sen. Erin Grall (R-Fort Pierce). “Our constitution says liberty and justice for all not the few — all. And this bill is not justice for all.”

Sen. Lori Berman (D-Boynton Beach) called the bill “a gift from our governor to big businesses at the expense of our citizens and small businesses.”

The Senate voted 23-15 for the bill, HB 837, with five Republicans voting no and one Democratic legislator voting in favor of the measure. The House approved the bill last week.

The special interest groups that warred over the bill are bracing with rapid fallout from the legislation, claiming that thousands of lawsuits will be filled from some of the state’s well-known firms in order to get ahead of the new regulations.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce also announced it would start a legal fund to help defend the new law and that former Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson, an appointee of former Gov. Rick Scott, would lead the effort.

Curry Pajcic, the president of the Florida Justice Association, did not say whether his group or others would move to block the changes after DeSantis signs them into law. But Pajcic, in a statement, said that “in just three short weeks, Florida lawmakers rushed through some of the largest rights-grabbing legislation in recent history.” He called it “a direct assault on the rights of every Floridian by insurance companies and corporate elites who think they can dictate which rights should be preserved and which can be tossed aside.”

Legislators are expected to quickly pass many of the governor’s other top priorities by the midway point of the session in early April — which will be shortly before DeSantis is scheduled to take another out-of-state trip including a visit to early primary state New Hampshire. DeSantis is widely expected to announce his 2024 presidential bid after the annual legislative session ends.

While Florida’s 60-day session is condensed compared to some other states, lawmakers usually handle high profile or contentious bills near the end. Part of the calculus is that in the past, legislative leaders tie the fate of major bills to negotiations with the annual budget, which is the one piece of legislation lawmakers are supposed to approve each year.

Democrats contend the torrid pace is to assist DeSantis’ expected presidential bid, but GOP legislators have brushed aside that suggestion.

“What really is the priority here isn’t any future election,” said Rep. Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican and the House Rules chair. “The priority here is why is Florida leading the country in so many different categories. Why are people flocking to Florida? It’s because of the policies we passed and this legislative session is a continuation of that.”

Federal judge, siding with Florida, blasts Biden administration on immigration

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge on Wednesday handed a victory to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody as he delivered a blistering rebuke to the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell ordered federal immigration authorities to revamp one key policy that he says runs counter to federal law while at the same time castigated the Biden administration for its handling of what he called an “unsustainable” crisis on the nation’s southern border.

“For the most part, the court finds in favor of Florida because, as detailed below, the evidence establishes that defendants have effectively turned the Southwest border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country,” wrote Wetherell, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump.

Wetherell added that the Biden immigration policies were “akin to posting a flashing ‘Come In, We’re Open’ sign on the southern border. The unprecedented ‘surge’ of aliens that started arriving at the Southwest Border almost immediately after President Biden took office and that has continued unabated over the past two years was a predictable consequence of these actions.”

The ruling comes amid reports that the Biden administration is considering reopening previously shuttered detention centers to house migrant families.

Moody, whose office first filed the lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other federal officials in March 2021, hailed the ruling.

“Today’s ruling affirms what we have known all along, President Biden is responsible for the border crisis and his unlawful immigration policies make this country less safe,” Moody said in a statement. “A federal judge is now ordering Biden to follow the law, and his administration should immediately begin securing the border to protect the American people.”

Jeremy Redfern, deputy press secretary for DeSantis, said in an email that “Judge Wetherell vindicated the governor’s actions and ruled that the Biden Administration is breaking federal immigration law by failing to fulfill the duties of his office and secure the nation’s border."

The Department of Justice declined to comment on the ruling.

Florida, along with other Republican-led states such as Texas, has been sharply critical of immigration policies pursued by the Biden administration. DeSantis, who is expected to run for president, pushed for the creation of a contentious migrant relocation program that resulted in the state flying nearly 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last September.

The state’s lawsuit took aim at immigration policies put in place right after Biden entered office, asserting that federal authorities were ignoring a federal law that requires those entering the country illegally to be detained and that undocumented migrants coming into Florida were costing the state.

The lawsuit also criticized a “parole” plus “alternatives to detention” policy first established in November 2021 and subsequently modified.

Federal officials maintained that Florida lacked the standing to challenge the case and asserted that they had the discretion to decide whether to release individuals apprehended inside the U.S. border and disputed that there were any blanket policies.

Wetherell ruled that the state did have standing, pointing to evidence presented by Florida that showed that more than 100,000 migrants have wound up in Florida as a result of the changes, including the addition of more than 17,000 students to public schools.

The trial also included testimony from top federal officials as well as documents and emails discussing the ramifications of the policies.

In his decision, Wetherell ruled that an overall non-detention policy does exist but that it was not subject to judicial review. The judge, however, ordered federal authorities to vacate the parole policy, although he said he would give them seven days to appeal his ruling before it takes effect.

Trump’s ‘24 game plan: Be the dove among the hawks

Donald Trump is settling on a simple foreign policy pitch in his second bid for the White House: Want World War 3? Vote for the other guy.

Over the past week, Trump has assailed President Joe Biden’s handling of Afghanistan. He has said he could end the almost year-long conflict in Ukraine within “24 hours,” but without any indication how, and suggested sending tanks to the country could spark nuclear war. He has railed against China and called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a “globalist.”

The claims are a continuation of a posture Trump sought to project both as a candidate for president in 2016 and while in the White House — one occasionally contradicted by his record.

But his renewed focus on international affairs also comes as the Republican primary field is expected to get crowded with potential challengers likely to pitch their own foreign policy bona fides. That includes two former Trump lieutenants: former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Those close to Trump’s campaign operation say he plans to try and paint himself as an anti-war dove amongst the hawks. They believe doing so will resonate with GOP voters who are divided on, but growing wary of, continued support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

“Trump is the peace president and he’s the first president in two generations to not start a war, whereas if you look at DeSantis' congressional record, he’s voted for more engagement and more military engagement overseas,” said a person close to the Trump campaign, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

“Trump is the only person who has said no more funding for the Ukraine war. I haven't heard Nikki Haley say anything like that... Pompeo or Pence? Where do they stand on Ukraine?”

In fact, Haley, Pence and Pompeo have all, to varying degrees, called for the U.S. to fund Ukrainians and even, on occasion, criticized the Biden administration for not doing enough.

Still, Trump’s modernized “America First” framework has already had profound implications, both in upending establishment Republican and neo-conservative orthodoxy on foreign policy and in muddying the consensus on issues ranging from military intervention to how to handle ruthless dictators.

And as multiple Republican officials noted for this story, last week the conservative and once-hawkish Heritage Foundation stepped away from its long standing demands for a robust defense budget and said cuts to Pentagon spending should be on the table as part of the debt limit negotiations.

“I do think national security is going to be a much more important issue in 2024 than in many of the most recent presidential elections,” said Trump’s former national security adviser-turned-public critic John Bolton, who also is considering a 2024 run. “You may have noticed there's a Chinese balloon floating over the country today.”

Aware that his instincts aren’t as hawkish as some of his potential Republican challengers, Trump and his aides have started to draw contrasts and set the parameters of the debate.

On Thursday, Trump said Pompeo “took a little bit more credit than he should” for accomplishments made while he was secretary of State, a sign that Trump may try to minimize his opponents’ foreign policy experience, despite having been appointed by him. Later that day, the super PAC supporting Trump highlighted recent attacks on Haley by right-wing conservative commentators, some of whom called her a “warmonger” and “Neocon Nikki.”

Trump’s team was also eager to tout a Wall Street Journal op-ed endorsement this week from Sen. J.D. Vance, the populist Republican from Ohio, who touted Trump’s inclination against getting into foreign entanglements.

“Every Republican running is going to be opposed to [critical race theory]. Every Republican running is going to say we need to secure the border and we need to oppose amnesty. Every Republican running is for lower taxes and less regulation,” a Vance adviser said of Trump’s early foreign policy play. “It makes sense for Trump to drag the race where his opponents don’t want to be.”

Trump’s team also sees foreign policy as an area to draw distinctions with his potential top political foe, DeSantis, who gained national attention for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and embrace of cultural wars but who, as governor, has a limited track record internationally.

“The governors will have a tough time proving their foreign policy chops because it’s not in their job description so they’re going to have to do something to step up and prove to voters that they’re capable of handling all these issues that present themselves on the global stage,” said David Urban, a Republican strategist who remains close to numerous potential 2024 contenders.

“[Potential] candidates such as Pompeo and Haley and Pence and the [former] president can say, ‘Here’s me sitting down with Kim Jong Un, and here’s what we were able to accomplish with the Abraham Accords or on USMCA.’ Everyone has something they can talk about on concrete terms, where governors can’t and that will be a point of differentiation among a wide group of them.”

There are already signs that DeSantis is making moves to address this likely line of attack. He has had phone calls and meetings with foreign leaders and ambassadors in recent months, including a face-to-face session in Tallahassee last week with Mario Abdo Benítez, the president of Paraguay. Relatives of Paraguay’s first lady – Silvana Abdo – were killed in the deadly Surfside condominium collapse of 2021.

Back in December, DeSantis met in his office with Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., along with Yousef Al Otaiba, the ambassador from the United Arab Emirates. Right after DeSantis handily won re-election he met top officials from Japan, including Koji Tomita, ambassador to the United States, as well as Japanese business leaders.

“Florida continues to be an important political and economic partner to many countries around the world, and as foreign officials request meetings with our office it is appropriate to further develop these ties,” said Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for DeSantis.

Bolton, for his part, said he thought Trump would prove vulnerable on foreign policy when it became clear that he had none.

“He doesn’t have policy on much of anything, he has Donald Trump,” he said. “So his most recent musing is that if he were president he could solve Ukraine-Russia dispute in 24 hours — I think it is so ridiculous it falls on its own weight. …I think people over time and self-identified Republicans just don’t buy it."

But so far, Trump’s other likely opponents aren’t taking the bait. DeSantis this week hit back on Trump’s digs about the governor’s Covid response, touting his margin of victory in Florida’s November election, but has not sought to defend his record on foreign policy.

A person close to Haley’s political operation, meanwhile, said the former U.N. ambassador will tout her own foreign policy record, one that involved helping Trump secure some of his top accomplishments abroad. They include moving the United States embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, repealing a nuclear deal with Iran and securing buy-in from China on sanctions against North Korea.

While some big gulfs do exist between Haley and her former boss — she has championed U.S. support of Ukraine and became a vocal critic of Putin and Moscow during her tenure in the Trump administration — she likely won’t take swings at Trump, choosing instead to criticize Biden’s approach to China, Iran and the U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“That is not the focus,” the Haley ally said of contrasting with Trump. “We are focused on Biden.”

Florida eyes more changes to voting laws ahead of 2024

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida could alter its voting by mail rules yet again ahead of the 2024 presidential election, including blocking voters from being able to request a mail-in-ballot by telephone.

The office of Florida’s top election official, Secretary of State Cord Byrd, has come up with a list of possible changes included in a recent report that the Republican-controlled Legislature could enact this spring. His office, however, is not recommending new identification requirements strongly opposed by the state’s local election supervisors.

Some changes outlined by the department in a 60-page report handed over to state lawmakers late Wednesday include requiring that election supervisors verify the signature of a voter who signs a request for a mail-in ballot, even though some local election officials already do that.

“The Department recommends building on the election integrity measures adopted recently to enhance the security of the vote-by-mail process,” states the report.

Some of the recommendations could trigger another partisan firestorm from Democrats suspicious of proposals taking aim at mail-in voting.

Republicans in Florida for many years had dominated mail-in voting in the state, but that shifted over the past few cycles, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the 2022 elections, about 2.7 million Floridians voted by mail, with 43 percent of the ballots cast by Democrats compared with 36 percent from Republicans.

Brad Ashwell, Florida director of All Voting Is Local, a voting advocacy group, called the proposals outlined by the department as largely “unnecessary” — though he did praise a recommendation for legislators to authorize the creation of a uniform vote-by-mail ballot request form.

“The voters are already being harmed by the last changes they made,” said Ashwell, noting recent changes such as one that forces voters to request a mail-in ballot after every general election and that increased identification requirements to request a ballot.

He added that it would also be “asinine” to order up additional revisions to mail-in voting ahead of the 2024 election when turnout could be much higher than it was during the midterms. He also suggested that prohibiting ballot requests by phone could be an obstacle to elderly voters and those with disabilities.

Since the 2020 election — where mail-in voting was repeatedly criticized by former President Donald Trump — GOP legislators in the Sunshine State have pushed through several changes to mail-in voting, many of them at the insistence of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Democrats and voting rights groups widely criticized a 2021 law that place a two-ballot limit on how many mail-in ballots someone could gather for elderly or sick voters.

DeSantis and Florida Republicans have refused to go along with suggestions to eliminate no-excuse mail voting, or allowing people to vote by mail without providing a reason. But they have made key changes such as banning the collection of more than two mail-in ballots from non-family members, a practice derided by DeSantis as “ballot harvesting.” Lawmakers also put restrictions on drop boxes where people drop off their ballots and required voters to renew their ballot requests after every general election. Parts of this law is still being challenged in federal court.

Last year, legislators contemplated requiring voters to add personal information — like a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number to what they mail back to supervisors, a move that would have likely required voters to use an extra envelope. Currently, supervisors compare the signatures on the ballot envelope and what the voter has on file.

One Republican election supervisor called the initial proposal from GOP legislators a “recipe for disaster.” Legislators backed off the change and instead directed the Department of State to come up with recommendations on how to increase ID requirements.

In January, election supervisors across the state officially chimed in with their own report warning about making widespread changes.

A working group of Democratic and Republican supervisors submitted a report to the Department of State that said requiring voters to put their personal information on ballots would be a “seismic” change that would increase costs, confuse voters and potentially lead to identity theft as well as delays in counting ballots.

The final report from the department did not include any recommendations that voters be required to put identifying information on their ballot envelopes, opting instead to focus on the "ballot request process."

Mark Earley, supervisor of elections for Leon County and head of the supervisors' statewide association, told Department of State officials that local supervisors appreciated the “credence” given their concerns about potential identification changes. Earley, however, added that some of the recommendations could “pose challenges.”

In a brief interview Thursday, Earley said eliminating the ability to request ballots by phone “is going to hinder a lot of voters” though he said he understood the desire to create a paper trail for requests.

Florida legislators expected to tackle Disney in special session next week

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is expected to hold a special session next week, where it will deal directly with Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis, confirmed in a statement Tuesday that “the governor’s office anticipates a special session next week on Reedy Creek, and other items," a signal that the governor’s office could be increasing pressure to get something done ahead of the regular session that is scheduled to start in early March. Under Florida law, the governor can call a special session on his own, or legislative leaders can agree to hold one.

Griffin did not provide any additional details on what the “other items” are going to be. There was no immediate comment from House and Senate leaders about the special session.

Reedy Creek Improvement District is the name of the special district that was created by Florida legislators more than 50 years ago and which has largely been governed by the entertainment conglomerate for more than five decades.

Last year, legislators moved quickly to dissolve Reedy Creek during a special session after Disney officials spoke out against a new law restricting how sexual orientation and gender identity are addressed in public schools. The measure, called “Don’t Say Gay” by its opponents, prohibits educators from leading classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade. LGBTQ+ advocates say the measure could lead students to increased bullying or even suicide.

While DeSantis was not the initial driving force behind the controversial law, he became a champion of it and was instrumental in pushing through the plan to strip Disney of its special status in the aftermath. DeSantis, now seen as likely presidential contender, repeatedly used his battle against Disney on the campaign trail last year as an example of his resistance to “woke” corporations.

But while legislators passed a bill targeting Reedy Creek they did not address ongoing questions about district debts and whether they would be shifted to local taxpayers.

A spokesperson for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DeSantis has pledged that a plan would be developed to ensure that taxpayers wouldn’t be responsible for the debts. In early January, the administration said it had come up with a proposal that would have the state control the special district and at same time ensure that Disney would be responsible for any debts previously incurred.

“The corporate kingdom has come to an end,” Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said earlier this month.

State Sen. Linda Stewart, an Orlando Democrat whose central Florida district is close to Disney World, said in a message that “we have not received anything yet! Just been hearing rumors for the last couple of weeks.”

DeSantis has relied more and more on special sessions to take care of high priority legislation, a move that guarantees more sustained media coverage — including among friendly conservative outlets — than during the somewhat hectic 60-day regular session where multiple controversial issues may be considered at once. State legislators in Florida are already expected to take up a major expansion of vouchers, a measure to eliminate concealed weapons permitting and possibly new abortion restrictions in the session scheduled to start in March.

DeSantis snaps back at Trump: I got reelected

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday hit back at former President Donald Trump’s criticism of his Covid-19 handling, pointing out that he scored a record reelection victory that showed voters supported his hands-off response to the pandemic.

“I roll out of bed, I have people attacking me from all angles, it’s been happening for many, many years,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Bradenton where he was asked about Trump’s recent digs at him.

“The good thing is, is that the people are able to render a judgment on that whether they re-elect you or not. And I’m happy to say — you know in my case — not only did we win re-election, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has had in the history of the state of Florida. ... That verdict has been rendered by the people of the state of Florida.”

DeSantis has made similar remarks in the past, but his Tuesday comments show he’s willing to engage and defend against a rising stream of attacks from his one-time ally who boosted him to the governor’s mansion back in 2018.

Trump over the weekend made campaign appearances in New Hampshire and South Carolina where he told reporters that DeSantis would be “disloyal” if he ran for the Republican nomination and he knocked DeSantis’ record on Covid-19.

DeSantis is a rising conservative star who is seen as one of the biggest potential obstacles to Trump winning a third go-round as the Republican nominee for president. DeSantis’ star has been buoyed by his decision to veer away from lockdowns earlier than most states — but not all — and his insistence on opening schools back up to in-person learning. He leaned into his record as a prime argument to Florida voters who re-elected him in a nearly 20-point victory over Democratic nominee Charlie Crist.

DeSantis has also waded into cultural issues such as race and gender identity that also brought him widespread criticism and attention.

Trump so far is the only major GOP candidate in the race, although many others are mulling 2024 White House runs. DeSantis will likely jump into the race later this year — possibly in May — after the annual session of the Florida Legislature.

Trump also contended that DeSantis was “trying to rewrite history” regarding his handling of the pandemic, including the governor’s decision to allow lockdowns during the first months as well as his aggressive early push for people to get vaccinated. DeSantis has since pivoted and now is viewed as a vaccine skeptic, especially after he asked for the creation of a grand jury to look at any “wrongdoing” associated with vaccines.

Trump has begun to paint DeSantis, however, as another Republican establishment candidate, including taking shots at him because he is on good terms with former GOP Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who Trump mocked and chased out of the 2016 race for president.

Harris calls out ‘extremists’ over abortion as Florida Republicans eye more restrictions

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday brought the battle over abortion directly to the doorstep of potential 2024 president contender Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of what could become another contentious fight over abortion in the weeks ahead in Florida.

Harris gave a midday speech in Tallahassee highlighting the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, where she not only weaved in several mentions of “freedom” — a subtle dig at DeSantis’ recurring remarks about the “free state of Florida” — but said “extremists” in the statehouse had passed a “radical abortion ban” last year.

“And can we truly be free if so-called leaders claim to be ‘on the vanguard of freedom’ while they dare to restrict the rights of the American people and attack the very foundations of freedom,” Harris said.

The Biden administration has clashed repeatedly with DeSantis over the last two years, but Harris’ appearance just a mile from the state Capitol seemed to signal a higher level of engagement with the governor, who is viewed as the top challenger to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.

Before Harris took the stage at the Moon nightclub in Tallahassee, attendees in the audience chanted “Hey ho, DeSantis has to go.”

Harris, in her remarks, criticized the DeSantis administration after Florida health regulators told health care providers they could risk criminal charges if they distributed abortion pills. That warning — which went to pharmacies — was distributed after the FDA dropped long-standing restrictions that banned the abortion pill from being sold at retail pharmacies.

President Joe Biden sent out a memo on Sunday calling on federal agencies to look at barriers of patients accessing abortion pills, setting up the possibility that the administration could take action sometime in the future.

The DeSantis administration did not respond to questions about Harris’s comments. The Republican Party of Florida put out a statement that stated “Democrats are proudly cheerleading barbaric policies to allow unrestricted abortions — including infanticide. That's all anyone needs to know.”

Democrats were able in many states to galvanize voters in the midterms over abortion, but DeSantis crushed his Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist, in November by nearly 20 points. Crist spent weeks highlighting abortion restrictions in the run-up to the November elections.

Florida’s Legislature last year passed a controversial ban on abortion after 15 weeks without exceptions for rape and incest. A legal challenge to it is being considered by the state Supreme Court. DeSantis supported the ban and has said he backs abortion restrictions beyond the current law, although he has stopped short of specifics.

Harris zeroed in on the laws passed in Florida and other states as “designed by extremists.” She called the Florida law a “a radical abortion ban with no exceptions, even for the survivors of crimes like rape and child molestation and human trafficking.”

But it’s not clear what GOP legislators plan to do. Florida House Speaker Paul Renner late last week was non-committal about what lawmakers would do next, saying that while there is a “pro-life majority” in the House that “we have not finalized anything in that regard.” Renner said some members were supportive of the current restrictions, while others wanted to restrict access further. Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) previously said she supports restricting abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy but with exceptions for victims of rape and incest.

State Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the House Democratic leader, “fully anticipates” legislators will tighten the state’s current ban in order to aid a DeSantis presidential run.

“DeSantis is running for president in 2024,” said Driskell shortly after Harris spoke. “He controls everything in that building.”

Harris’ speech was given inside a nightclub located a mile from the Florida Capitol due to the threat of rain and bad weather. Nikki Fried, Florida’s former agriculture commissioner who attended the event, said that both Florida State University — and Florida A&M University, a historically Black college and university — turned down requests to have Harris appear on campus.

Fried she had been working with Planned Parenthood on an event noting the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and was asked to help with logistics once the White House confirmed that Harris was coming to town.

Fried suggested that the schools turned down Harris because the institutions feared angering DeSantis, but Dennis Schnittker, assistant vice president of communications for Florida State University, said the university “was unable to accommodate the Vice President due to previously scheduled events and operations.”