DeSantis exerts 'absolute control' over Florida statehouse to deliver conservative wish list

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is engineering months of positive media coverage ahead of his possible presidential run with a push by the state legislature to pass a conservative wish list.

The state legislative session begins Tuesday, and Florida lawmakers are preparing to advance a slate of bills DeSantis wants passed including requiring laws that would let private companies check employees' immigration status, limit lawsuits against businesses, end permit requirements for concealed weapons and other issues that could boost his stock among conservatives, reported the Miami Herald.

“I’ve never seen a governor in my lifetime with this much absolute control of the agenda in Tallahassee as Ron DeSantis,” said lobbyist and DeSantis supporter Brian Ballard.

DeSantis hasn't officially announced a presidential campaign, but state legislators are preparing to pass a bill that would allow him to run without resigning, and the Republican supermajority in the House and Senate have stated their goal is to push the governor's priorities “across the finish line.”

“Now we have super majorities in the Legislature,” DeSantis said. “We have, I think, a strong mandate to be able to implement the policies that we ran on.”