Florida Democrats are furious at "BIG MAD" Governor Ron DeSantis (R), arguing that his call for a special session is as authoritarian as it gets.
The Florida governor announced this week that he will call a special session for the end of January to ensure that Florida is doing its part to push forward President-elect Donald Trump's (R) agenda.
Among the issues that will be addressed in the special session is reforming the process to petition the state for a constitutional amendment change, which is triggered by controversies during the 2024 presidential election.
In response to the agenda, Democrats like Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D) and state Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith (D) are pushing back against Governor DeSantis' requests.
Governor DeSantis is BIG MAD that a very clear majority of Floridians support reproductive freedom and cannabis legalization, so he's called a special session 1/27 to attack citizen initiatives, take our rights, and bring attention to himself after the inauguration. 1/3
— Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) January 13, 2025
"Governor DeSantis is BIG MAD that a very clear majority of Floridians support reproductive freedom and cannabis legalization, so he's called a special session beginning January 27th in order to attack citizen initiatives, take our rights, and bring attention to himself after the inauguration," state Senator Smith declared on social media.
"He also wants to repeat the bipartisan law passed by his own Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez that allows in-state tuition for DACA/Dreamers who've lived in Florida their entire lives and worked to become doctors and lawyers thanks to this important policy," he added.
Given that the goal of the special session is to expedite the president-elect's agenda like mass deportations, the state rep. argued that this is a misuse of resources "that will destroy our communities and our economy" and "impact public safety efforts."
Rep. Eskamani, who's running for Orlando Mayor, also weighed in on the special session.
"A majority of FL voters supported Amendments 3 & 4 to legalize cannabis & repeal FL's near-total abortion ban," she wrote. "And now DeSantis wants to make the citizen ballot initiative even more difficult -- anything he can do to strip away control from the voters."
A majority of FL voters supported Amendments 3 & 4 to legalize cannabis & repeal FL's near-total abortion ban. And now DeSantis wants to make the citizen ballot initiative even more difficult -- anything he can do to strip away control from the voters.
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, PhD 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) January 13, 2025
