DeSantis & the Florida speaker are just getting started. Here’s what’s next.
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This week, Florida’s statehouse cleared the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign a six-week abortion ban. The man who shepherded the bill, House Speaker Paul Renner, joins Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza for this episode of Playbook Deep Dive.
You might not know Renner’s name — but you definitely know his work:
A bill to ban surgeries and prescription treatments for transgender minors, which has passed the state Senate and Renner will soon push through the House
One of the most comprehensive new school voucher laws in the country
Legislation removing books with sexual content from Florida public schools
A major tort reform bill, big tax cuts
And if he gets around to it this session: a bill aimed at over-turning the 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan decision, the most important First Amendment ruling of the last century
All of this is aimed at Renner’s other project: helping Gov. Ron DeSantis build a record of accomplishments in Florida on which he can base his presidential campaign.
While Republicans have created a legislative assembly line that is spitting out laws to change seemingly every aspect of life in Florida, a big question suddenly hangs over their project:
Are they building a record of accomplishments that can launch the DeSantis rocket to the White House? Or are they weighing down the governor with so much right-wing baggage that he crashes upon liftoff?
