At a press conference Wednesday, surrounded by law enforcement officers, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke about his request for a special session with the Florida Legislature regarding his plans for migrant deportations when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in at the White House.
Florida Senate president Ben Albritton and Speaker of the House of Representatives Daniel Perez wrote a letter to all state legislators responding to and rejecting DeSantis’s request. (Note: Both Albritton and Perez are Republicans.)
The letter (below), dated January 13, reminds Florida legislators that the next Session starts in 50 days that calling a special session at this time is “premature.”
The letter reads, in part, that “when it comes to immigration we are strong supporters of President Trump and stand ready to follow his lead. At this time, we are not aware of any specific guidance provided to the states about actions state legislatures can take to support forthcoming federal action.
“It is completely irresponsible to get out ahead of any announcements President Trump will make, especially when uninformed or ill-timed state action could potentially impair or impede the success of President Trump’s forthcoming efforts.”
At the press event, DeSantis responded to the letter: “I mean if Republicans who don’t want to support this and they want to vote that down, then their constituents will obviously hold them accountable.” He added, “I don’t think they’ll be a lot of takers for going against [it].”
Ron Desantis rips the Republican President of the FL Senate and Speaker of House after they sent him a letter rejecting his request for a special session on migrant deportations. pic.twitter.com/NZVSgZwTNR
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 15, 2025
DeSantis admitted that he was “really surprised” to read in the letter that those opposed to the special session say it’s “premature” and yelled, “Are ya kidding me?”
The note also accused the Governor of not providing “any actual bill language or even meaningful details for legislators and our constituents to consider.”