Democrats in Congress are expressing outrage at recent moves by Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis, who pushed Orlando-area state attorney Monique Worrell from office amid claims she wasn’t aggressive enough. DeSantis had previously pushed another state attorney from the southern regions of Florida similarly out of office, targeting Andrew Warren. Both Worrell and Warren were elected by local residents, meaning the governor’s decisions effectively overturned local voters’ choices.
Democrats including Reps. Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), and Daniel Goldman (N.Y.) pushed in a recent letter for a full committee hearing of the House Oversight Committee to examine the wake that DeSantis is leaving. “When a governor removes other duly-elected officials not because they violated the law but simply because he disagrees with how they do their job, we no longer have a representative democracy,” Goldman said. “That is fascism, pure and simple. I urge my Republicans colleagues to act.”
In Warren’s case, a judge already found the punitive action that DeSantis took to be a violation of Warren’s rights under the First Amendment but found no legal mechanism supported by the circumstances at hand for actually putting Warren back into his elected position. Among other points of contention, Warren’s detractors were outraged at his statements of opposition to the prospect of bringing prosecutions that related to an abortion, though there was no indication that he actually altered his handling of any particular case in line with these statements.
As for Worrell, her removal comes as DeSantis struggles in the GOP presidential primary, where he was previously considered to be a leading contender against continued front-runner Donald Trump, whose multiple criminal cases have not shaken off his base of support. A debate in the contest will be held later this month, though indications suggest Trump himself won’t be participating. Federally, the GOP remains in control of the House Oversight Committee, suggesting the hearing that Goldman and the others were seeking is unlikely to materialize.
When a governor removes other duly-elected officials not because they violated the law but simply because he disagrees with how they do their job, we no longer have a representative democracy.
That is fascism, pure and simple.
I urge my Republicans colleagues to act. https://t.co/VjA2PN9aX4
— Rep. Dan Goldman (@RepDanGoldman) August 11, 2023
