TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida Speaker of the House Daniel Perez addressed House lawmakers this week over his public feud with Gov. Ron DeSantis on how the state should handle illegal immigration.
"Governor, we have gotten to know one another better in the last three weeks than in the last six years. I'm looking forward to the next two," Perez said in his address.
Along with Senate President Ben Abrittion, the sides have appeared to have reached an agreement on passing strong illegal immigration legislation, a mandate filtered down by President Donald Trump after his victory last November.
Speaker Perez and Gov. DeSantis called each other's immigration proposals weak in the past.
While thanking DeSantis, Perez acknowledged the presence of "deranged online trolls" issuing death threats over the fight, which began after the Governor called for a special session to combat illegal immigration in January.
The political saga continued after Perez and state lawmakers ditched DeSantis's proposals and created a special session of their own.
"Over the last month, we have seen some of the uglier aspects of politics including deranged online trolls issuing death threats," Perez said. "But amid all of the noise and the nonsense, I have been so incredibly inspired by you, the way you seriously engage on the policy, how you stood together and conducted yourselves throughout this process."
Perez was confirmed as House Speaker in November. The Miami native's tenure appeared to get off to a rocky start with DeSantis before reaching a deal yesterday.
"Every single time I stand in this chamber, I am reminded that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. And so before we begin our work this week, I wanted to say thank you. For keeping faith with our House, with each other, and with this remarkable system of government. I have never been as proud of the Florida House of Representatives," Perez continued.
The special session will continue until Feb. 14.
