
DeSantis draws contrast with federal government and Democratic-led states in State of the State address
CNN
Painting himself and his state as the antidote to closed schools, government mandates and Big Tech overreach, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday delivered an election-year State of the State speech that emphasized the deepening divide between Republican and Democratic leadership during the pandemic.
DeSantis opened his remarks by declaring Florida "the freest state in these United States." He then laid out a legislative agenda ready-made for the culture wars that have lately dominated the political arena, touching on critical race theory in schools, vaccine mandates, voting laws, abortion and police funding.
The Republican leader, often mentioned as a potential presidential contender for his party in 2024, invited comparisons between Florida and states run by Democrats, and he levied sharp criticisms at the federal government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis without mentioning President Joe Biden by name.

A little-known civil rights office in the Department of Education that helps resolve complaints from students across the country about discrimination and accommodating disabilities has been gutted by the Trump administration and is now facing a ballooning backlog, a workforce that’s in flux and an unclear mandate.












