DeSantis’s Latest Major Announcement Runs Into Opposition from His Own Party

One of Ron DeSantis’s major announcements from last week — a plan that would allow Floridians to buy imported drugs from Canada — appears to be dead on arrival.

During a meeting with reporters last week, Senate President Bill Galvano “said he is concerned” about a House bill “that would allow residents to access imported drugs.” That bill — which was introduced by Rep. Tom Leek — directly mirrors a central part of DeSantis’s plan to import drugs from Canada.

But it’s not just that Galvano who is expressing concerns about DeSantis’s drug importation proposals. According to The Hill, the Trump White House — which would have to approve DeSantis’s plan — was “noncommittal” about the proposal and refused to confirm DeSantis’s claim that Trump had personally backed the plan. A White House spokesperson tartly told The Hill that the White House “looks forward to educating Governor DeSantis on the many policy options the Trump Administration has proposed to reduce costly drug prices for American families.” And as The Hill noted, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has strongly opposed drug importation plans like those proposed by DeSantis, even going as far as to call them “gimmicks.”

Since taking office, DeSantis has traveled across the state proposing sweeping policy proposals in almost daily “major announcements.” Yet as the Republican opposition to his drug importation plan suggests, these “major announcements” are little more than PR gimmicks designed to grab headlines. In reality, DeSantis appears to have no plan — and no interest — in actually implementing his sweeping agenda.