Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday in Miami that establishes an Education Savings Accounts (ESA) program under which every family in the state can receive up to $8,000 to cover education expenses outside of the public school system. “The state of Florida is number one when it comes to education freedom and education choice,” DeSantis said at a press conference.
Read MoreTag: Ron DeSantis
Methodology and Motive Questions Surround Poll Showing DeSantis Ahead of Trump in Iowa
Two polls showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “running more competitively” against former President Donald Trump in first-in-the-nation nominating states Iowa and New Hampshire are missing some key data, raising questions about the validity of the surveys.
Read MoreTrump Has Double DeSantis’ Support: Poll
Former President Donald Trump leads Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the 2024 GOP primary by a massive two-digit margin, doubling the support of DeSantis’ share, according to a poll released Friday.
Trump tops a crowded field of Republican presidential contenders at 50% – a 26-percentage point lead over the Florida governor – according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. In a head-to-head matchup between the two frontrunners, the former president still wins against DeSantis, but by a slimmer margin of 56% to 44%.
Read MoreCommentary: DeSantis Staff Need Not Apply for the Trump Campaign
As Ron DeSantis emerges as a prospective rival for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump’s campaign has put word out that anyone who works for the Florida governor will be blackballed.
According to sources with direct knowledge of the edict, Justin Caporale, who helps lead the advance team for the former president, has said that anyone who staffed a recent DeSantis book tour will be considered “persona non grata.” A top Trump ally was more comprehensive, telling RealClearPolitics that the prohibition would apply to more than just the junior aides tasked with setting up folding chairs and hanging banners.
Read MorePence Tells Iowans U.S. Must Continue to be ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ in Ukraine
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Taking a different position than his old boss on a key foreign policy issue, former Vice President Mike Pence told a gathering of Iowans Saturday that the U.S. must continue to help provision Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. While he repeatedly trumpeted “Trump-Pence” successes, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate definitely differs with potential top presidential race rivals, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on U.S. involvement in the war-torn European country.
Read MoreDem-Linked Nonprofit Sues DeSantis Admin for Records on Decision to Reject AP History Class
A left-wing watchdog organization sued Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration on Thursday for allegedly withholding records relating to the decision to reject the AP African American Studies course.
American Oversight filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Education claiming the government agency is allegedly not responding to eight public records requests for the communications between state agencies, DeSantis’ office and outside parties discussing the decision to reject an AP African American Studies course because it lacked “educational value and historical accuracy.” The lawsuit comes after DeSantis rejected the college-level course because it violated state law against the teaching of CRT.
Read MoreCommentary: DeSantis Charms GOP by Condemning ‘Leaks’ and ‘Palace Intrigue’
On its face, there wasn’t anything unusual about the email that landed last week in the press office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Background interview request from the Washington Post,” read the subject line that summarized the industry-standard process whereby information is shared with reporters under pre-negotiated terms, usually anonymity. When sanctioned by a politician or their team, it is called “going on background” to shape and broaden a story with additional facts and contexts but without direct attribution. When not sanctioned, well, then that is just called leaking.
Read More‘Corporate Bailouts Must End’: 2024 GOP Candidates Weigh In On Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has sparked comments from 2024 GOP candidates and hopefuls about why the bank failed and what the government should do in its wake.
Declared candidates, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump, as well as contender Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have spoken out about what might have led to SVB’s collapse and against government bailouts. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of SVB after its Friday shut down when their stock plummeted following mass withdrawals.
Read MoreRon DeSantis Suggests Privately He’s Decided to Run for President: Report
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has privately disclosed his intentions to run for president in 2024, two sources close to the governor told The Washington Post.
DeSantis’ private comments suggest that he is no longer in the deciding phase, and is likely to make an announcement once Florida’s legislative session concludes in May, according to The Post. The Thursday launch of Never Back Down, a political action committee designed to boost DeSantis as the GOP nominee, serves as another indicator of a possible campaign, as it intends to “carry him to the White House.”
Read MoreDonald Trump Tops National Primary Polls, But DeSantis Leads in Key States
While former President Donald Trump continues to lead national polls for the 2024 GOP primaries, state polling is more of a determining factor, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is topping several important states.
In states with the most recent primary polling, DeSantis leads in five– Alabama, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. There are several other states in which he leads, but with several caveats.
Read MoreNew Polls Show Trump Widening Lead over DeSantis with GOP Voters
Former President Donald Trump is gaining support from Republican voters and widening his lead over potential 2024 candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, according to four new polls.
Trump received 55% of the hypothetical 2024 GOP primary vote, more than twice that of DeSantis, who received 25%, according to an Emerson College poll released Tuesday. A poll from Emerson last month showed that Trump led DeSantis 55%-29%.
Read MoreNew Poll Finds Nearly 70 Percent of Arizona GOP Voters Prefer Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis as 2024 Presidential Candidates
A new poll from OH Predictive Insights (OHPI) focusing on the potential Republican candidates for Arizona’s 2024 primary election found that voters favor former President Donald Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by a wide margin as their choice for president.
Read MoreCommentary: The Right Cannot Afford to Abandon Public Education
In his latest offensive to rid Florida’s educational system of revolutionary Marxism, Governor Ron DeSantis announced what amounts to a new direction for one of the most liberal educational institutions in the state: the New College of Florida. DeSantis appointed a slew of new trustees to the college, including the anti-Marxist journalist Christopher Rufo, Claremont Review of Books Editor and political scientist Charles R. Kesler, and Matthew Spalding of Hillsdale College. The president of the New College, Patricia Okker, appeared before the board and said that she could not cooperate with the board or with DeSantis’ plan for the institution, and she was promptly terminated.
Read MoreTrump and DeSantis to Fundraise Back-To-Back in Palm Beach This Week
Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are both set to appear at fundraising events in Palm Beach, Florida, this week for their respective campaigns as the race for the GOP primaries intensifies.
MAGA Inc., a political action committee campaigning for a second Trump administration, is hosting an event at Mar-a-Lago, and DeSantis is gathering a group of conservative donors and leaders for a retreat just eight minutes from Trump’s estate the next day, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Read MoreCommentary: DeSantis, Inc. Underestimates Donald Trump
The 2024 Republican presidential primary has hardly begun, but a consensus has already formed in conservative media that Donald Trump is toxic and unelectable. This narrative, commonplace but seldom challenged, is being pushed aggressively by pundits who are obviously partial to Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Many of these personalities insist that Trump has an obligation to step aside, and they pretend that Trump is attacking DeSantis unprovoked, despite the governor’s obvious intentions to run.
Read MoreFlorida Democrat Admits Taking Daughter to Drag Shows: ‘Just Folx Dancing in Cute Outfits’
A Florida Democrat lawmaker who admitted in a Twitter post Saturday she takes her teenage daughter to drag shows condemned Governor Ron DeSantis’s (R) move to revoke the liquor license of an Orlando venue that allowed minors to attend drag show performances.
State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville), who self-describes as a “community organizer,” denied the sexual nature of drag shows, claiming, instead, the issue is one of “parental rights,” whereby parents can decide to take their children to these performances.
Read MoreFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis Scores Victory Over College Board’s AP African American Studies Course
The New York Times is lamenting the College Board’s revised curriculum for its course in Advanced Placement African American Studies (APAAS) – its abandonment of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the move to make Black Lives Matter (BLM) merely an optional topic of study – both changes that suggest Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s (R) firm rejection of the radical content of the prior version significantly contributed to the new direction.
Read MoreDeSantis Backs Harmeet Dhillon in RNC Race
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed former Trump campaign attorney Harmeet Dhillon in her challenge to Ronna McDaniel for Republican National Committee chair. “I think we need a change. I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC,” DeSantis told Charlie Kirk on Real America’s Voice in an interview aired Thursday, one day before the vote for RNC speaker.
Read MoreCollege Board Announces Revision of AP African American Studies Course After DeSantis Rejects Pilot for Florida
The College Board announced Tuesday that it will be updating its framework for its Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies (APAAS) course following its rejection by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and his state’s Department of Education (FDOE). The College Board said in a statement its final framework for the course will be released on Feb. 1, reported WESH.
Read MoreTrump Leads DeSantis by 20 Points for GOP Nomination in 2024: Poll
Former President Donald Trump enjoys a commanding 20-point lead over his nearest prospective competitor for the Republican Party primary nomination in 2024. Trump took 48 percent support among registered voters in the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, which was released exclusively to The Hill. That metric puts him clearly ahead of his nearest would-be rival, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who commanded 28 percent support.
Read MoreCommentary: If Voter Fraud Isn’t Addressed, Democracy in America Won’t Exist
Stop trying to take Ron DeSantis away from Florida. Just stop it. I understand the rationale, but it’s wrong. It may be quite reasonable to be jealous of Florida for its governor—the only governor in the nation to win my coveted “competent” rating on every major issue. But before we encourage DeSantis and Donald Trump to have a falling out that splits the party (or, rather, before we let the RINO simps do it at the behest of Democrats and lots of Chinese money), let’s review a few salient points.
Read MoreCommentary: It’s Trump vs. The Establishment All Over Again
Since the “red wave” fizzled out, a consensus has quickly emerged in the media that Donald Trump is no longer a viable political force. The newly anointed prince of the Right, according to the tastemakers, is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s more palatable, less chaotic protégé. But DeSantis and Trump offer two very different things. DeSantis is a conventional politician with Trump-like qualities, who can, at least according to his fan base, build a popular majority that is beyond Trump’s reach. Trump is a radical outsider to a rigged, illegitimate political system with which he has been at war for seven years, and which his supporters see as an existential threat to their way of life.
Read MoreCommentary: Republicans Need to Change Strategies After Disappointing Midterm Results
Who or what was responsible for the Republican nationwide collapse in the midterms? After all, pundits, politicos, and pollsters all predicted a “red tsunami.”
Moreover, the average loss of any president in his first midterm is 25 House seats. And when his approval sinks to or below 43 percent—in the fashion of Joe Biden—the loss, on average, expands to over 40 seats.
Read MoreDeSantis Puts Breaks on 2024 Speculation: ‘Chill Out’
Following former President Donald Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement that he would launch a 2024 presidential bid, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis sought to cool speculation on his own ambitions and to direct focus to the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff.
DeSantis cruised to reelection last week, handily defeating Democratic rival Charlie Crist by nearly ten points. Trump-backed Republicans did not fare quite as well and the GOP, though favored to win both chambers of Congress, lost the Senate while the control of the House remains undecided.
Read MoreDeSantis Gains Ground with Conservatives over Trump for 2024 Nominee: Poll
More Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say they would prefer Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president in 2024 over former President Donald Trump, according to a new poll.
While 35% of Republicans and Republican-leaners want Trump to run in 2024, 42% said they wanted DeSantis to run, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Saturday. Even among those classified as “strong Republicans,” Trump is two points ahead of DeSantis for 2024 at 45% to 43%.
Read MoreTeachers’ Union Boss Backs GOP Sen. John Cornyn’s Controversial ‘Civics’ Bill
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten announced her endorsement of a federal “civics education” bill sponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), one that the National Association of Scholars (NAS) observed “is more an attempt to smuggle activist training into American K-12 classrooms than it is a good-faith effort to improve civic literacy.”
Weingarten began her column at Newsweek last week with a call for renewed civics education that is all entangled with her view that Donald Trump “and his cronies ran roughshod over the principles most of us learned in grade school.”
Read MoreCommentary: Send All of the Illegals to Martha’s Vineyard
In an extremely imaginative problem-solving (or problem-highlighting) move, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planeloads of illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard. A Martha’s Vineyard lawmaker tweeted that “our island jumped into action,” and that “these immigrants were met with compassion, not chaos.” In another tweet, however, he accused Republicans of using human lives as “political pawns,” calling it “evil and inhumane.”
Read MoreState Prohibits Florida Retirement System from Investing in Funds That Prioritize ESG
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the trustees of the State Board of Administration, CFO Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody passed a resolution Tuesday updating the state’s investment and proxy voting policies for its retirement system and pension plan. The resolution prohibits state fund managers from investing state money in funds that comply with the ideological agenda of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). The resolution also calls for an internal review of the state’s governance policies over the voting practices of the Florida Retirement System Defined Benefit Pension Plan.
Read MoreU.S. Senate Hopeful Blake Masters: Mark Kelly Should Go Back to Space
PHOENIX, Arizona – Arizona Senate Republican nominee Blake Masters spoke at the recent “Unite and Win” rally in Phoenix, hosted by Turning Point Action, telling Arizonans it is time to get Mark Kelly (D-AZ) out of office.
“You know what, hey, we can respect that he [Mark Kelly] used to be an astronaut,” Masters said. “I’m sure he was really great at it. Doing all the experiments in space or whatever it is that astronauts do nowadays. Let him do that. Because here on earth, he’s failing. Here on earth, we have some big problems. Here on earth, we have massive inflation. Here on earth, in Arizona, there’s an invasion at our southern border.”
Read MoreCommentary: We Need Trump and DeSantis
First, a caveat: this Trump versus DeSantis debate that pops up here and there really isn’t as big a thing as the legacy media and some of the old-school political trolls want to make it, because there is no rivalry of any real note between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
Read MoreCommentary: Amid Recession Fears, Economically Free States Continue to Outperform
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently responded to questions about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ads airing in Florida, “It’s almost hard to drive people out of a place like California given all their natural advantages, and yet they are finding a way to do it.” He noted that California is hemorrhaging its population because of bad progressive economic policies so that they could be more free
Florida ranks third in the nation for economic freedom, according to the Fraser Institute. And California ranks second to last.
Read MorePoll: More Americans Want Trump to Run in 2024 than Biden
More Americans would like to see former President Donald Trump run in 2024 than President Joe Biden, but neither candidate enjoys broad support for a potential campaign, a new Politico poll found.
Of all registered voters, 35% reported that Trump should “definitely” or “probably” run, whereas just 29% reported the same answers for Biden, the poll showed. However, the poll is not all positive for Trump, as both men have staunch opposition to their prospective candidacies in 2024 and almost half of the population strongly opposes either of them running.
Read MoreNed Ryun Commentary: You Can Bet Trump Will Be Back in 2024
We’re going to get a massive red wave this fall. The 2021 results in Virginia, out of control inflation, Joe Biden’s dismal approval ratings in recent polls (for perspective, Obama’s approval rating was 44.7 percent in October 2010, just before the midterm mauling Democrats got that year), soaring gas prices, and a porous southern border indicate that even places Biden won by 20 points in 2020 are in play this fall.
Read MoreFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis Exposes John Cornyn-Sponsored Civics Bill Expanding Critical Race Theory in Public Schools
A bill that would actually allow Critical Race Theory (CRT) to be pushed on every public school in the country has finally been exposed for what it is by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).
In a statement June 30, DeSantis’ office released the positive results of Florida’s 2022 civics assessments since a major update to the state’s civics standards emphasizing the exceptional nature of the American founding and Constitution.
Read MoreIvy League Study: Boosters, COVID-19 ‘Rebounds’ Fuel Skepticism of Federal Narratives
As the nation’s most powerful and twice-boosted infectious disease doctor battles a COVID-19 “rebound” two weeks after testing positive, new research from the public health schools at Harvard and Yale suggests the boosted fared worse against the first Omicron subvariant than the non-boosted.
The FDA is so alarmed by the “waning effectiveness” of boosters, whose formulation is still based on the ancestral Wuhan strain, that it asked manufacturers Thursday to add a “spike protein component” from the fourth and fifth Omicron subvariants to this fall’s boosters.
Read MoreCommentary: States Can Help Conservatives Secure Even More Legal Victories
America is currently in the midst of a broader political realignment. The political Left, which once upon a time purported to stand for the forgotten “little guy” against the titans of Big Business, has in recent years decided that Big Business is actually an ally of convenience in its long Gramsci-an “march” through the institutions. Chris Rufo has perhaps demonstrated this trend better than anyone else.
And the political Right, whose once-instinctive neoliberal proclivities made it a convenient ally for Big Business, is currently rethinking its approach to political economy in general, as well as its specific relationship to culturally leftist multinational corporations. The most tangible recent expression of this rethinking has been Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crippling punishment of The Walt Disney Company for its coming out on behalf of sexually grooming innocent children in the Sunshine State.
Read MoreDeSantis: Texas Should Be Sending Illegal Immigrants Back to Mexico
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says Texas shouldn’t be allowing illegal immigrants to enter the state, echoing sentiments conservative Texans have been arguing for over a year.
“What Texas needs to do is just send them [illegal immigrants] back across the border,” Gov. DeSantis said at a recent press conference in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. “Who cares what the Feds are saying. They aren’t doing their job.
Read MoreCommentary: Coverage of 1 Million COVID Deaths Must Include the Pandemic of Bad State Responses
This week, the United States officially hit the sad mark of one million COVID-19 deaths. The mainstream media coverage has detailed how this death toll has varied based on age, race, and vaccination status. However, it has conspicuously ignored how these COVID-19 deaths have occurred independently of differing state policies regarding economic and education restrictions.
Many Democrat-run states imposed severe restrictions in 2020 and 2021 that did nothing to stop the virus and much to harm small businesses and ordinary Americans. Job Creators Network called on policymakers to “flatten the fear” when it became clear the virus couldn’t be controlled by hiding at home or a big government response, yet we were ignored by blue-state officials. Any reckoning of the nation’s COVID response at one million deaths must incorporate these unforced errors that exacerbated the pandemic’s wrath.
Read MoreCorporations Stay Quiet on Abortion After Disney’s Disastrous Tangle with DeSantis
Corporations previously outspoken about hot-button social issues have stayed quiet on the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade after a dramatic fight between Disney and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over the company’s political activism.
Following the leak of a draft opinion indicating the Supreme Court is likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, Democrats are trying to ram through a bill legalizing third trimester abortions; however, corporations are largely staying out of the fray, following Disney’s disastrous battle with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that ended with the company losing its special tax privileges.
Read MoreWhite House Refuses to Weigh In on Biological Men Competing in Women’s Sports
The White House dodged a question on transgender participation in college sports during Monday’s press briefing.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki if the Biden administration thought it was fair that biological males are now competing against women in college sports.
Read MoreCommentary: The Disney Company Is Now Unjust
Walt Disney established the Disney Company in 1923 for the sole purpose of entertaining children with fun-loving characters. It is one of the most iconic companies in the world, loved by most families. Disney’s theme parks are an important vacation attraction for most families located on three continents. Disney is the leading producer of family movies.
Disney’s new CEO Bob Chapek is now transforming Disney into Woke-Disney with his opposition to what the left mendaciously calls “Don’t Say Gay,” a Florida law forbidding public schools from teaching inappropriate gender identity or sexual orientation in grades K-3. The law does not use the word gay.
Read More21 States Join Lawsuit to End Federal Mask Mandate on Airplanes, Public Transportation
Twenty-one states have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continued mask mandate on public transportation, including on airplanes.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody are leading the effort. Moody filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida along with 20 other attorneys general. DeSantis said the mask mandate was misguided and heavy-handed.
Read MorePennsylvania Republican Lawmakers Planning Bill to Relocate Illegal Aliens from Covert DHS Flights to Delaware
In Pennsylvania, Republican members of the state legislature are drafting a bill that would forcibly relocate illegal aliens brought into the state by Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and instead move them to Biden’s home state of Delaware.
Fox News reports that the legislation was first mentioned in a memo by State Senator Mario Scavello (R-Penn.), who informed his colleagues of his intentions to introduce the bill.
“In the very near future, I intend to introduce legislation to address the influx of illegal immigrants being relocated into Pennsylvania,” Scavello stated. “How many illegal immigrants has the president relocated to his own home state of Delaware? If it is good enough for Pennsylvania, then why not redirect the relocation to Delaware?”
Read MoreCommentary: The Madness of Anthony Fauci
It’s nearly impossible to select the most maniacal comment made by Dr. Anthony Fauci in his nearly 70-minute interview with “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan that aired over the weekend. Joe Biden’s chief coronavirus advisor and miniature global menace spent more than an hour denying responsibility for his documented mistakes, bragging about his self-appointed role as the world’s doctor, hogging credit for the vaccines, and attacking anyone who has challenged his unrivaled ego and track record of failure.
Portraying himself as a victim rather than the cruel, megalomaniacal tyrant he is, Fauci took aim at Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Congressional co-sponsors of the “Fire Fauci Act,” which would zero-out the salary of the federal government’s highest-paid bureaucrat and audit Fauci’s correspondence and financial transactions during the pandemic.
Read MoreCommentary: Tennessee Legislature Must Pass Big COVID Test in ‘Special Session’
The red state/blue state dichotomy is not simple.
Nowhere is that more apparent than Tennessee where—despite having one of the most conservative electorates in the country—the leadership has been passive at best in responding to the wishes of their supporters during these days of great crisis.
Read MoreCommentary: The Left Can Finally Admit What It Wants
I remember a staggering conversation with my high school lunch table in the early 2000s. Everyone agreed with one kid’s statement that there was nothing special about living in America: Life in Canada, or anywhere else, would be identical except for maybe the weather.
At the time, I wondered what was going to happen to America when all these kids grew up. What happens when America’s young adults, far from having any intellectual commitment to freedom, don’t even understand what life would be like without it?
Read MoreDeSantis Dismisses Talk of 2024 Presidential Bid, but Continues to Campaign Across the Country
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to dismiss the chatter about a run for high office in 2024.
“I just do my job and we work hard,” the governor said in a recent in-state press event. “I hear all this stuff,nand honestly it’s nonsense.”
He also said “speculation” to the contrary is “purely manufactured.”
Read MoreStates, Not Congress, Could Pose the Biggest Threat to Tech Companies
Despite calls for increased regulation of the tech industry, Congress has yet to pass any major legislation, leaving it up to the states to take action curbing tech companies’ power and influence.
Meanwhile, state legislatures have introduced and enacted legislation on data privacy, antitrust, and content moderation, while state attorneys general have issued a number of legal challenges alleging anticompetitive business practices.
Read MorePima County Republican Chair Calls for Arrest of Officials Mandating Vaccine or Masks
The chairman of the Pima County Republican Party is calling for the arrest of local officials who mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or masks. In that lower part of the state, the City of Tucson requires vaccinations and the Marana School District requires masks.
Shelley Kais told the Arizona Daily Independent, “On September 29, any school board member, city councilman, or supervisor who requires masks or vaccines mandates and passports should be arrested ” She went on, “The power grab by our elected officials to play this ‘game of chicken’ is nothing more than political and follows neither science nor good public policy. We will continue to fight for our first responders, our teachers, and the children in Pima County.”
Read MoreBiden Commends Phoenix School District That Violated Ban on Mask Requirements
President Joe Biden called the head of Phoenix Union High School District after the district implemented mask requirements that may be contrary to state law, praising Superintendent Chad Geston for the move. In a statement, Biden said he told Geston during his Friday phone call that he “did the right thing.”
The issue is currently under litigation in Maricopa County Superior Court. Numerous state legislators asked Governor Doug Ducey a few days ago to take action against the school districts in violation, and Ducey responded on Tuesday with a directive financially penalizing the districts. They will not receive any of the $163 million that the state got through the American Rescue Plan to boost per-pupil funding. Students in those districts will receive vouchers to attend schools elsewhere.
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