Governor Ron DeSantis

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday directed the state university system to end using what are known as H-1B visas to hire employees from other countries.During an appearance at the University of South Florida in Tampa, DeSantis questioned why state universities had staff members on H-1B visas such as a public-policy professor from China, a psychologist and counselor from the United Kingdom, an athletics operations and communications coordinator from Trinidad and Tobago and an assistant swim coach from Spain.

After Richard Corcoran left his role as Florida’s education commissioner in 2022, he joined the lobbying firm Continental Strategy LLC, where he began cashing in on his political connections. State records show Corcoran lobbied for his clients almost exclusively the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a close political ally who’d appointed him not only as education commissioner but also to the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system.

This year, The State of Florida has done something it has never done before, leading the nation in executions. Already in 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrants for 15 death row inmates.

Florida officials have been accused of failing to disclose their application for federal reimbursement for an immigration detention center in the Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz." A public records lawsuit filed Monday by Friends of the Everglades says this led to a false impression before an appellate court panel, which put on hold a judge's order to wind down operations at the facility. Florida applied for federal funding in August but didn't inform either a federal district court or an appellate court panel. Federal officials confirmed that a $608 million reimbursement had been approved for the center earlier this month.

A state House panel Monday began a two-day review of property taxes as it looks at potential changes that could have a major impact on local governments.Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing lawmakers to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot to reduce or eliminate taxes on homesteaded properties. As it gears up for the 2026 legislative session, the House Select Committee on Property Taxes on Monday received presentations about issues such as school funding and rural “fiscally constrained” counties that have limited tax bases.

One Florida teacher is suspended, and at least three more are under investigation for comments they made about Charlie Kirk after his murder – not in the classroom, but on their personal social media accounts.Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is threatening to sanction public school teachers and staff who made posts critical of the conservative 31-year-old political activist in the days following his murder earlier this week in Utah. The governor there announced Friday the arrest of Tyler Robinson, 22, and said he was believed to have acted alone.

In a matter of eight days, The State of Florida took a barely used Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport and transformed it into the Immigration Detention Center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Hurricane Ian slammed Lee County with treacherous storm surge, damaging nearly 50,000 homes, killing 150 people and causing a record $112 billion in property damage after making landfall on Sept. 28, 2022.Some of the victims got hit by more than just the storm.In early 2023, as lawsuits against a company that helped clean up the damage were piling up in Lee County, Gov. DeSantis began doling out massive contracts to the Canadian-owned company based in Texas, putting the company accused of ripping off hurricane victims in charge of some of the state’s hurricane relief efforts. In total, the governor’s office has awarded that company $200 million in state contracts and purchase orders with little oversight, competitive bids, or other safeguards in place.

Last year, two Citizen-Led Amendment Initiatives failed to meet the 60% requirement to become law. Those included the attempts to legalize marijuana and to bring an end to the state’s abortion ban.