TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Presidential candidate and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will bring lawmakers back to Tallahassee for a special session to impose additional sanctions on Iran, his office said Friday.
No date has been set and no details of proposed legislation have been released. The special session is being called because Iran supports Hamas militants who attacked Israel two weeks ago, though no government worldwide has offered direct evidence supporting that Iran orchestrated the attack.
“The details, including the date and scope, are being worked out between legislative leadership and our office. We look forward to working with the legislature to show Florida’s continued support for Israel,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in an email.
The Legislature will begin its annual session in January. Florida already has sanctions against companies that directly do business with Iran and six other “countries of concern,” including Cuba, China and Russia. The U.S. federal government has imposed sanctions against Iran for decades.
The announcement comes after DeSantis made efforts to bring Floridians home from Israel, declared a state of emergency and sent airplanes loaded with supplies for the country.
Democratic House Leader Fentrice Driskell questioned whether DeSantis' motives for the special session were political.
“This looks like yet another case of Ron DeSantis using the Legislature to try to help his failing presidential campaign," Driskell said in a news release. “We will be watching closely to make sure Floridians’ tax dollars aren’t wasted trying to impress out of state GOP primary voters.”
