May 12
DeSantis began a weekend on the road with a trip to Peoria, IL to deliver the keynote speech and the Lincoln Day dinner at the Peoria Civic Center for Tazewell and Peoria County Republicans.
Earlier in the day, DeSantis had signed off on a bill addressing digital surveillance, including heavily restricting the use of any central bank digital currency.
May 13
On Saturday, DeSantis took advantage of Donald Trump’s last-minute cancellation of a rally in Iowa by making his own trip there, making several stops in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. His principal appearance was at Congressman Randy Feenstra’s annual family picnic, where he generated significant media attention for this burger flipping skills, whilst he also met voters at a classic car museum, a pizza ranch and Jethro’s BBQ, attempting to improve his poor reputation when it comes to interpersonal skills.
May 14
DeSantis returned to Florida.
May 15
Signed public higher education related legislation, this time targeting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. These bills ban the use of federal dollars for DEI programs, prohibits the teaching of DEI, Critical Race Theory and other related theories in mandatory general education courses and prohibits majors, minors or programs principally focused on these subjects. All general education courses must now be submitted for approval by the state. Additionally further power is vested in university presidents, who, critically, are selected by governor-appointed boards of trustees. This is another step in DeSantis’s “war on woke,” which appears to be becoming increasingly intrusive into the lives of Floridians.
May 16
DeSantis signed further legislation targeting human trafficking. This move will allow victims to recover damages and receive restitution from adult entertainment establishments. It also tightens laws to force hotels to comply with human trafficking awareness laws.
May 17
Perhaps the most significant legislation of the week was the total outlawing of gender transition surgery or the use of puberty blockers for minors. It also added obstacles for adults receiving these medical treatments.
May 18
A quieter day for DeSantis in the wake of a week of increased media coverage.
It was another week of speculation and yet we still haven’t had an official announcement from DeSantis regarding his presidential bid. However, to all intents and purposes he is on the campaign trail. After a reasonably successful weekend trip to Illinois and Iowa in which he grabbed some of the spotlight back from Donald Trump, DeSantis returned to Florida to continue his bill signing onslaught. The stage is set for his entry to the race.
