DeSantis targets Daniel Perez over Florida agenda delays

Ron DeSantis says House Speaker Daniel Perez has blocked Florida priorities, criticizing refusals to advance medical freedom and AI-related bills.

Ron DeSantis didn’t mince words in Madison, arguing that Florida’s conservative agenda is being derailed not by policy disagreements, but by House Speaker Daniel Perez’s willingness to obstruct priorities.

The outgoing governor, who has publicly clashed with Perez for more than a year, said the Miami Republican is acting against the expectations of the voters who elected both men in 2018. DeSantis accused Perez of prioritizing personal grievances over governing for Floridians.

“He is not governing in the best interests of the people of the state of Florida. He has a personal agenda. He has other things that he’s concerned about,” DeSantis said of Perez, framing the conflict as a breakdown in democratic mandate rather than a normal legislative standoff.

DeSantis linked the tension to what he called a betrayal of electoral promises. He said when leaders “got elected on our back,” the Speaker’s refusal to move certain items undermines the policy direction that voters expected the party’s leadership to advance.

A central part of DeSantis’s critique focused on legislation he said was refused or stalled in the House.. During last month’s congressional reapportionment Special Session. he criticized Perez for not hearing measures tied to “medical freedom” and for not advancing what DeSantis referred to as the “AI Bill of Rights.”

From DeSantis’s perspective, the stakes are heightened because the proposals were passed by the Senate during the regular session.. He suggested that the House did not introduce the bills during the special session because members were told “don’t file on this. ” a claim he offered as an explanation for why the House did not take action on items that. in his view. had already cleared a legislative hurdle.

DeSantis argued that the political pressure will inevitably shift to individual House members.. In his view. constituents will ask why the House had a chance to lead in the special session but instead appeared to backtrack on priorities Florida previously positioned as forward-looking—particularly around issues he said were central to state fights during the COVID era.

“When you have people that got elected on our back, like the Speaker of the House, get in and do the opposite of what the voters expected us to do, I’m going to call that out,” DeSantis said, emphasizing what he described as a disconnect between legislative process and voter expectations.

He specifically portrayed both “medical freedom” and the AI-related proposals as “no-brainers,” arguing that Floridians who saw the state take a leading role during the pandemic will question why new leadership would choose delay rather than movement.

DeSantis also addressed the broader legislative context, saying his working relationship with Senate President Ben Albritton has been effective.. He praised Albritton as a “friend” and “good guy. ” using that relationship as a contrast to what he described as a less cooperative dynamic in the House.. His comments suggested that the Senate has been able to keep pace with the administration’s priorities while the House has not.

To bolster that argument, DeSantis pointed to Florida’s performance in the years before Perez’s tenure as Speaker.. He said that during the six years leading up to Perez. the legislature was more productive than any period in Florida’s history. while he described Senate and chamber leadership as aligned enough to “set the agenda” and move major issues.

DeSantis said that while he played a role in driving priorities. the earlier period benefited from House and Senate leadership that “took pride” in adding “big points on the board” for Floridians.. He suggested that momentum changed “over the last year-plus. ” when the pace of legislative progress slowed in ways he attributes to House leadership.

Still, DeSantis drew an explicit line between his experience with Senate leadership and his dealings with House leadership, insisting that the situations were not comparable and that his working relationship with the Senate has remained productive.

For Floridians watching the political fight within the state Capitol, DeSantis’s remarks underline how quickly legislative disagreements can become a referendum on leadership style—especially when promised priorities appear to stall after clearing the Senate.

Ron DeSantis Daniel Perez Florida House Speaker medical freedom legislation AI Bill of Rights special session Florida legislature