Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responds to Republican lawmaker's actions on a special session tackling immigration, and a judge blocks a federal funding freeze started by President Donald Trump.

Florida Senate passes immigration bill after delay

Republicans in the Florida Senate passed CS 2-B Immigration Tuesday evening, with 21 senators voting in support of the measure, and 16 voting against the proposal. 

The bill was passed after an amendment filed by State Sen. Joe Gruters was adopted. The amendment redefined the role the Commissioner of Agriculture would have in working with the federal government on immigration questions.

Lawmakers in the Florida Capitol spent most of Tuesday at a near standstill on immigration.

The chambers stayed empty until the late afternoon, with the governor and legislative leaders still divided on details.

“In short, President Trump is asking for more badges, more detention beds and a laser-focus on catching illegal aliens that violate our law,” State Sen. Joe Gruters, one of the bill’s sponsors, said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis still wants more, while legislative leaders want less.

That disagreement forced lawmakers to start the day almost six and a half hours behind yesterday’s planned schedule.

“We have seen a lot of online back-and-forth chatters, dueling statements being released. And it doesn’t seem like Governor DeSantis is letting go. He seems really angry about us finally exhibiting independence as a legislative branch,” State Rep. Anna Eskamani said.

Even the Trump administration is now chiming in. They made several suggestions, including mandating the death penalty against undocumented migrants convicted of capitol crime.

Lawmakers began combing through a new 84-page bill that replaces the old bill on Tuesday, and plan to finish approving the measure Tuesday evening.

It would end in-state tuition for undocumented migrants. It would also toughen criminal penalties against any undocumented migrant convicted of a crime. Gov. Ron DeSantis wasn't satisfied with the legislation previously under consideration. He wanted more and lawmakers are insisting on less.

Lawmakers were set to begin voting at 12 p.m. in the Senate, and 1 p.m. in the House, but that has been delayed.

The special session began after DeSantis called on lawmakers to consider the issue. They gaveled in on Monday and gaveled out — essentially killing all previously filed bills. 

The Senate and House instead launched their own special session, pushing their own immigration package. They are saying their own bill aligns more with President Donald Trump’s immigration orders rather than the governor’s instructions. 

DeSantis responded Monday, saying he was glad that Florida Republicans agreed to hold a special session despite them saying earlier that such a move was premature.

He then listed the problems he has with the current proposed legislation, saying it doesn’t go far enough in furthering, “proposals I outlined and that are necessary to ensure that Florida leads on fulfilling the Trump Administration’s mandate to enforce immigration law and deport illegal aliens.”

DeSantis also responded to the proposal using stronger language Monday afternoon, calling some of the provisions in the bill unconstitutional.

Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton released a statement in response, arguing the governor hadn’t read the text of the bill, also named the TRUMP Act. 

“The Governor did not read President Trump’s Executive Orders before calling a special session. As a matter of fact, they didn’t exist. And, it would appear he didn’t read SB2B/HB 1B before issuing a response on social media. He leveled serious and inappropriate insults at his fellow Cabinet Officer, local law enforcement officers, and our agricultural community,” the two said in a statement released to members of the press.

“The Legislature will not act in a disingenuous or dishonorable way by attacking anyone, especially our law enforcement. Unlike others, the Legislature is not interested in misleading or attacking Floridians, especially Florida law enforcement. Our number one goal is to work together with President Trump. Anyone that says anything otherwise is not reading the bill, not reading the executive orders, or just not telling the truth,” the statement continued.

From the jump, legislative leaders resisted DeSantis’ call for a special session, calling it “premature” and even “irresponsible.”

Perez said in prepared remarks for Special Session 2025-B that the House was canceling the previously scheduled committee meetings for this week to focus exclusively on the special session. 

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans that could total trillions of dollars.

U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the action Tuesday afternoon, minutes before it was set to go into effect. The administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday.

The White House had planned to start the pause as they begin an across-the-board ideological review of federal spending.

The plan sparked confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline.

The funding freeze by the Republican administration could affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted.

"The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve," said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent out on Monday.

Democrats and independent organizations swiftly criticized the administration, describing its actions as capricious and illegal because Congress had already authorized the funding.

"More lawlessness and chaos in America as Donald Trump's Administration blatantly disobeys the law by holding up virtually all vital funds that support programs in every community across the country," said a statement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York. "If this continues, the American people will pay an awful price."

The pause was set to take effect at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and it's unclear from the memo how sweeping it will be. Vaeth said that all spending must comply with Trump's executive orders, which are intended to undo progressive steps on transgender rights, environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts.

Vaeth wrote that "each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President's executive orders."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who faced a slew of questions on the memo during Tuesday’s briefing, sought to stress that the new directive was not a permanent ban. Instead, she referred to it as a “temporary pause or freeze” until it can be determined whether the funding fits with Trump’s priorities. She told reporters she would let them know when the Office of Management and Budget decides what funding will continue to go out the door. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at the daily briefing at the White House in Washington Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“We've seen the Biden administration spend money like drunken sailors,” Leavitt said. “It's a big reason we've had an inflation crisis in this country, and it's incumbent upon this administration to make sure, again, that every penny is being accounted for honestly.”

She added that she spoke with the nominee for OMB director, Russell Vought, who has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, earlier Tuesday and his door is open for federal agencies to make the case for their programs being “necessary and in line with the president’s agenda.”

Washington is a hub of spending that flows to various departments, local governments, nonprofits and contractors, and the memo has left countless people who are dependent on that money wondering how they will be affected.

The pause is the latest example of how Trump is harnessing his power over the federal system to advance his conservative goals. Unlike during his first term, when Trump and many members of his inner circle were unfamiliar with Washington, this time he's reaching deep into the bureaucracy.

"They are pushing the president's agenda from the bottom up," said Paul Light, an expert on the federal government and professor emeritus of public service at New York University.

He also said there are risks in Trump's approach, especially with so many voters reliant on Washington.

"You can't just hassle, hassle, hassle. You've got to deliver."

Medicare and Social Security benefits will be unaffected by the pause, according to the memo. But there was no explanation of whether the pause would affect Medicaid, food stamps, disaster assistance and other programs. The memo said it should be implemented "to the extent permissible under applicable law."

During the White House briefing, Leavitt repeatedly insisted that assistance going “directly to individuals” will not be impacted, naming Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps and welfare benefits in particular. However, it is not fully clear what constitutes direct individual assistance and Leavitt did not fully answer several questions asking for clarification. When asked directly if the freeze would impact Meals on Wheels, Head Start or disaster aid, she repeated that “it does not affect individual assistance that’s going to Americans.” 

In a post on X following the briefing, Leavitt acknowledged that there was an outage with the government's Medicaid website portal but said it is expected to be back online "shortly."