DeSantis excoriates FL House leadership amid Republican civil war, accusing them of 'revolt against' voters

Florida Republicans are embroiled in a civil war Gov Ron DeSantis has excoriated state House leadership accusing them of revolting against voters who sent them to the legislative chamber and pursuing a swamp-centric agenda while Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has lambasted DeSantis asserting that the governor has become the swamp With massive majorities in both chambers of the legislature and control of the governorship Republicans dominate the political landscape in the Sunshine State But in a current post on X the governor asserted that the FL House leadership is at war with the voters who provided the supermajority in the first place They do not want to see Florida continue on the conservative path DeSantis narrated Fox News Digital during an interview on Wednesday They're doing things to empower the left Republican voters are wondering what the hell is going on in the Florida House of Representatives he announced DESANTIS REBUKES REPUBLICANS FOR BACKING BILL FOR CARBON SEQUESTRATION TASK FORCE ABSOLUTELY EMBARRASSING I think that what they're doing is a formula for Florida to return to becoming a swing state The reason why we went from a purple state to a red state under my tenure is because we drew sharp contrasts with the left and we defeated the left on issue after issue DeSantis declared The House is run based on fear and retribution he announced Perez a Republican pushed back in a lengthy message provided to Fox News Digital on Friday morning Unfortunately what we ve seen in Florida is a Governor who s turned into exactly what he promised to fight he s become the swamp His latest attacks are nothing more than a distraction from the gross financial mismanagement happening under his watch We're talking about thousands of missing state vehicles million unaccounted for at AHCA Florida Agency for Wellness Care Administration and a growing list of problems across agencies and boards all controlled by the Governor Perez declared in the declaration While the Florida House remains the preponderance conservative body in the Legislature passing a budget billions lower than the Governor s approving larger tax cuts than the Governor and pushing bold conservative policies like repealing gun laws and passing E-Verify the Governor seems uninterested in a conservative Legislature He wants a compliant one After seven years in office it s clear he doesn't want people asking hard questions especially after neglecting his duties while running for president he continued We are proud to advance conservative reforms but we won t cover up mismanagement of taxpayer dollars The Governor s comments about retribution are deeply hypocritical His entire governing style is based on fear and intimidation if you don t do what he says or have a difference of opinion he views that as treason All he does is attack people who disagree with him I ve repeatedly indicated my willingness to work with the Governor and all he s done is insult and attack Members of the House Perez added SUNSHINE STATE DEM ANNOUNCES SWITCH TO NO AFFILIATION DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN FLORIDA IS DEAD DeSantis a former U S congressman who was a House Freedom Caucus founding member notched a dominant gubernatorial re-election achievement in He mounted a presidential bid in but ultimately dropped out and endorsed Donald Trump in after Trump a GOP juggernaut scored a huge win in the Iowa GOP presidential caucus Before he leaves office the governor has his sights set on seeking a constitutional amendment to lower or even abolish property taxes placed before voters Property taxes are local not state So we d need to do a constitutional amendment requires of voters to approve to eliminate them which I would encouragement or even to reorganization lower them DeSantis noted earlier this year in a post on X We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that he noted adding I agree that taxing land property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation The governor explained to Fox News Digital that the philosophical underpinning is do you have private property or not He noted that if someone owns property outright but still has to pay property taxes you're basically paying rent to the governing body DeSantis pointed out that property taxes basically tax unrealized gains commensurate with increased property value assessments by local ruling body And so you have to pay taxes at a higher basis even though you never sold the house for that much There's never been a domain transaction that says your house is worth that much he stated ABOLISH PROPERTY TAXES DESANTIS ENDORSES THE IDEA AND EXPLAINS HOW IT COULD BE DONE IN FLORIDAThe governor is committed to seeing a property tax proposal presented to voters before he leaves office DeSantis indicated that if he feels the state legislature would not consider putting the matter before voters a citizens' initiative could be the path to get it on the ballot But that would require the collection of vast quantities of signatures and the governor suggested that it would be easier if the legislature acts though he does not know that lawmakers will do so Why would we not just do it right he revealed after noting the GOP's dominance in the state legislature I think that they've just taken the position that they really don't give a damn in the Florida House what their voters think he declared Perez declared in his announcement to Fox News Digital As for property taxes the Governor introduced the topic months ago yet has failed to offer a plan language or even a basic explanation Property taxes in Florida are controlled at the local level but if he wants to bring a constitutional proposal forward the House is ready to put it on the floor in the next 24 hours This Legislature has debated bold reforms to property taxes for two decades The truth about late-term Ron DeSantis is that he talks a big encounter but waits for others to do the work Georgia Gov Brian Kemp opened his state first after COVID Ron took credit Texas Gov Greg Abbott led on immigration Ron took credit It s no different here If he truly wants action he should do the work not just hold empty press conferences FLORIDA GOVERNOR SPOTLIGHTS TIMELY GOLF OUTING HE AND CASEY DESANTIS HAD WITH PRESIDENT TRUMPDeSantis who is at this time serving his second term is not eligible to run again in and Trump has already endorsed Rep Byron Donalds R-Fla in the gubernatorial contest Inquired by Fox News Digital whether he thinks he will make an endorsement in the race the governor indicated that he will be involved but noted that it's still quite early in the ballot season DeSantis suggested that the state House has shown in contemporary months that Florida's success is very fragile