DeSantis Closes Out Legislative Battle, Vetoes Controversial TRUMP Act

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vetoed the TRUMP Act, a divisive illegal immigration bill, officially slamming the door on the month-long tumult within the Florida Republican party.

The 84-page bill, passed during the second special session of the year, was quietly rejected by DeSantis around 6 p.m. Thursday in what appears to be the final nail in the coffin of the rare legislative rebellion against the governor.

"I have vetoed [the TRUMP Act] because stronger, more aggressive bills have been produced that will further establish Florida as the nation's leader in immigration policy," the governor said in a one-page explanation of his veto. He said these new laws, which he signed at a Tallahassee press conference last week, mark what he had "originally called for."

DeSantis vetoed the measure without press or fanfare, just as President Donald Trump urged Rep. Byron Donalds to run for governor of Florida in 2026. The early endorsement is a shot across the bow to the current governor, who has no relationship with Donalds and allegedly planned to lobby Trump to endorse his wife, Casey DeSantis, for the position over the weekend.

With the veto of the TRUMP Act, Florida's new immigration laws now stand clear of the controversial bill that split Republicans down the middle, leading to bitter remarks and alleged violent threats. The new immigration laws, however, marked a reconciliation between the conservative powerhouses, designed as a sweeping compromise between GOP legislative leaders and DeSantis.

The 62-page package integrated anti-illegal immigration language that both sects had called for, including the mandatory death penalty for illegal immigrants convicted of child rape or murder and the denial of bail for illegal immigrants arrested for forceable felonies. The bundle was carried by the same lawmakers who spearheaded the initial rebellion against DeSantis, Senators Joe Gruters and Randy Fine, who struck a conciliatory note during the third—and final—special session.

This was a far cry from their past rhetoric.

Ahead of DeSantis' first special session at the end of January, Gruters and Fine worked with Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Danny Perez to craft the shock plan to shut down DeSantis' session 15 minutes after it began, killing all of his bills, and starting their own session starring the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act.

After DeSantis spent a week lambasting the "grotesque" new bill, vowing to veto it as soon as he could, the governor reached a deal with lawmakers to merge his dead immigration bills with the TRUMP Act. The resulting legislation created a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, made up of the governor and his cabinet, and introduced state crimes for illegally entering Florida.

The laws also increase penalties for any misdemeanor or felony committed by an unauthorized migrant and nix in-state tuition for undocumented college students.

Notably, they leave out any reference to cracking down on illegal immigrants in the workforce—an omission that Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo has sworn to fix with a new bill mandating all employers use E-Verify, an online system checking prospective employees' legal status.