Florida’s Republican era of good emotions appears to be ended.
President Donald Trump’s home state is embroiled in an unprecedented power fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature. It has resulted in insults, pledges of political retribution, and a growing media attack by the governor.
The tableau is unlike anything seen since Republicans took control of the state government over thirty years ago. While previous disagreements between a Republican governor and Republican legislators have concerned measures such as medical malpractice insurance or government subsidies for businesses, the current conflict centres on an issue critical to Republican voters: illegal immigration.
DeSantis summoned legislators to Tallahassee on Monday, claiming that his actions were intended to support the Trump administration’s efforts to combat illegal immigration. When they arrived, they swiftly adjourned his special session, summoned their own, and enacted a bill that did not include all of the governor’s requests. Legislative leaders said their bill was drafted after conferring with the White House.
So far, neither side has backed down, and the conflict might continue through the regular session, which begins in early March, and beyond. More than a dozen lobbyists, consultants, and legislators who spoke with POLITICO had different perspectives on how things would play out, but they all agreed that what counts most is whether or if Trump — who has been unusually silent — speaks up.
“I don’t think the public cares about the procedural machinations,” said one longtime Republican lobbyist, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “They just want to see who’s standing at the end of the knife fight, and it’s going to be the Legislature because they have Donald Trump.”
State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a strong supporter of DeSantis, countered Thursday night in a discussion on the social media site X: “If you are going to have a rebellion and you claim you are asserting the independence of the chamber, you don’t do it on an issue like immigration because you will get crushed.”
The fierce power struggle over the immigration measure looks to have spilt over into the 2026 midterm elections. This week, DeSantis offered to raise funds for candidates challenging his adversaries in legislative primaries, as well as his chosen candidate for governor.
As the legislative debate has progressed, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, one of the probable GOP contenders for governor, has received harsh criticism from DeSantis and his friends. The Legislature wants Simpson to handle immigration enforcement instead of the governor, which DeSantis believes is unconstitutional. Simpson’s long-standing ties to the agriculture industry, according to the governor and his supporters, limit his ability to effectively enforce immigration rules.
DeSantis even implied that Simpson retains power in the state Senate, where he previously served as president. Simpson, who did not reply to a request for comment, has reportedly verbally retaliated against several DeSantis staffers who have opposed him online.
It’s nearly inconceivable, given DeSantis’ rise to become one of the state’s most powerful governors in history. DeSantis was first elected in 2018 after receiving Trump’s endorsement. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he became a rising conservative celebrity, delving into debates about gender identity and race in front of his presidential campaign.
But dissatisfaction gradually grew, with legislators becoming tired of the demands of a governor who eventually limped out of the 2024 presidential primaries after being heavily defeated by Trump in Iowa. And when state House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton took power last November, they indicated that they would oppose the governor.
“The governor for the past four years has used the Legislature as a tool to promote his political ambitions to the detriment of the real issues and problems Floridians want to face,” said state Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, a Miami Republican who endorsed Trump instead of DeSantis back in 2023. “In the year or two before the governor officially ran for president, there was a clear sentiment that he was the person who made all the decisions in both branches of government.”
Nonetheless, the showdown occurred sooner and with a sharper escalation than anticipated. DeSantis intended to act rapidly on immigration-related legislation and a lengthy list of other issues, including making it more difficult to pass ballot initiatives. Legislative leaders were not on board when DeSantis called a special session on Jan. 27, and the governor informed them only minutes before making the announcement public.
At first, lawmakers called it “premature,” but then decided to put together their immigration legislation, which DeSantis later criticized as “weak” and “ridiculous.” The bill was enacted by the Legislature this week, but only after several Republican defections.
The governor has threatened to veto the bill and has flown around the state this week condemning it, encouraging Republican voters to express their discontent. DeSantis pointed out that the fact that legislators first claimed that the session was unnecessary to pass their bill demonstrated their lack of seriousness.
“We need to deal with illegal immigration once and for all,” DeSantis said during a press conference he held in Destin on Friday. “I’m so sick of passing the buck. I’m so sick of politicians campaigning, telling you they’re going to be tough on it and then they get into office and they squish out and they don’t do what needs to be done.”
Republican legislators, including Perez, claim that their package accomplishes Trump’s goals. They have also accused DeSantis of attempting to remain politically relevant despite being comprehensively rejected by Trump.
However, DeSantis remains extremely popular among Florida Republican voters. Ryan Tyson, a pollster with close ties to DeSantis, and his polling organization conducted a phone survey of 600 prospective Republican primary voters in mid-January, finding that the governor had 91 per cent support – with illegal immigration and border security being their top concerns. More than 80% of those polled agreed with his request for a special session and expressed a desire for rapid action.
According to one Republican adviser, confronting DeSantis on illegal immigration, which is also Trump’s signature issue, was a tactical mistake.
“The governor is playing by the rules of the jungle that the president wrote,” said the consultant, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Perez, a Miami Republican, has challenged DeSantis to veto what he calls the “most conservative illegal immigration bill” in the country, pointing out that the measure mandates the death penalty for any illegal immigrant convicted of a capital offence such as murder. Perez told POLITICO that DeSantis wanted the authority to expel migrants from the United States, which he argued belonged to the president, not the governor.
He also stated that if DeSantis intended to “collaborate” on a measure, he would not have “ambushed us with a special session.” Perez also said it was “sad” that DeSantis was talking about raising money for Republican legislators’ primary opponents. Perez recognized that a veto override was feasible, even if the bill did not pass with a veto-proof majority in the Senate.
However, such a step may only exacerbate tensions between the governor and the legislature.
“He is still the governor of the state of Florida, he is still a successful governor,” Perez said. “If he’s not willing to collaborate and he just wants to spread lies, then I’m going to move forward.”
The question now is: How long will the standoff go on?
“I think this breach will take a long time to heal,” said one longtime GOP lobbyist, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive internal dynamics. “Unless something drastic happens to make peace, this session will be nasty.”
A Florida Republican consultant, also granted anonymity to speak candidly, said that “it’s a standoff where frankly I don’t think anyone is budging, and the only person who could move the needle in one direction or another is not in the state of Florida but in the White House right now … The lame duck factor in all this is very real.”
