Republican lawmakers in Florida are embroiled in their first major fight with Governor DeSantis after holding their own special legislative session and disregarding a series of immigration proposals put forward by the staunchly pro-Trump leader.

Mr. DeSantis has been trying to cast himself as a Republican helping to advance President Trump’s agenda at the state level. However, after enjoying roughly six years of lawmakers mostly following his lead, the legislators now appear to have snubbed the former Trump primary challenger by ignoring several of his priorities and crafting a bill that would strip immigration enforcement from the governor’s office and give it to a state agriculture department currently headed by one of his foes. 

The decision to buck Mr. DeSantis does not appear to be an attempt by Republicans simply to block tougher immigration proposals. Several immigration hardliners, such as state Senator Randy Fine, who has praised Mr. Trump’s immigration policies and proposed spending $500 million to help the federal government’s immigration removal operations, are on board with the legislative revolt.

The leaders of the state House and Senate have argued the special session is “premature” and that lawmakers could address the issues during the regular session, which kicks off in March. The Senate president, Ben Albritton, also has raised concerns that some of Mr. DeSantis’ proposals, such as the creation of a database to track people who send money to families living outside of America, are unconstitutional.

The Tallahassee lawmakers met Monday to briefly convene the special session called by Mr. DeSantis. He called a five-day special session to take up immigration proposals such as eliminating in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants, requiring state and local law enforcement officials to cooperate with federal immigration officers, and increasing penalties for illegal immigrants who try to vote. 

However, the speaker of the Florida House, Daniel Perez, criticized the governor for calling the session, calling his proposals “stunts designed to generate headlines.”

Mr. Perez then summarily ended Mr. DeSantis’s special session, and lawmakers started their own special session aimed at passing a new immigration proposal titled the “TRUMP Act.” One of the proposals from the lawmakers would strip the responsibility of immigration enforcement from Mr. DeSantis’ office and give it to the agricultural commissioner, Wilton Simpson. 

Mr. Simpson, who has had a contentious relationship with the governor, posted on X, “With a mandate from the American people, @POTUS has an aggressive agenda to secure our border, combat illegal immigration and deport criminals. @Sen_Albritton & @Daniel_PerezFL are working to ensure he has the support and resources to get the job done here in the Sunshine State.”

Mr. Simpson has previously opposed stricter immigration laws in Florida. In 2023, he warned that a law in the state requiring businesses with more than 25 employees to use the E-Verify system to vet potential employees’ immigration status could have “unintended consequences in our construction industry, in our hotel, restaurant lodging association,” and possibly fuel inflation. Some estimates put the number of undocumented workers in the state of Florida as high as 400,000.

Mr. Albritton suggested that Mr. DeSantis’ latest immigration proposals could “undermine” President Trump’s agenda. “Sometimes leadership isn’t about being out front on an issue, it’s actually about following a leader you trust,” he said.

Allies of Mr. DeSantis in the legislature attempted to file his proposals and have them heard. However, the Tallahassee Democrat reports they were “either ignored or rejected.”

The decision by Republicans in the legislature to buck Mr. DeSantis stands in stark contrast to their decision over the past six years to mostly adhere to his wishes, including when he convened special sessions without issue.

This time was different. As the governor has tried to position himself as a Republican leader helping advance President Trump’s agenda at the state level, lawmakers were not afraid to defy him. During an interview on Fox News, Mr. Fine said of the governor’s call for a special session, “This is a stunt. This isn’t real.

“To call a special session for five days without even having a bill ready to go himself, it just shows the entire exercise was never serious,” he said. “It was about getting on Fox News.”

Mr. DeSantis previously tried to pressure lawmakers not to put up resistance to his priorities, saying it would be “very, very hazardous politically.”

After legislators made good on their threatened resistance, Mr. DeSantis posted on X, “Though the Florida legislature’s leadership initially said the call for a special session on immigration enforcement was ‘premature,’ they have now finally agreed to come in and do their job.

“I am glad the Legislature’s bill includes many of my proposals, including the long-overdue need to eliminate tuition waivers for illegal immigrant students,” he said. “But overall, their new bill is substantially weaker than the 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.”

Specifically, he voiced displeasure with the proposal to give the Agriculture Department the enforcement power over immigration, which he said would ensure “that enforcement never actually occurs” because it does not “oversee state law enforcement” and its “stakeholders often oppose enforcement measures.”

He accused the legislature of engaging in a “bait-and-switch tactic trying to create the illusion of an illegal immigration crack down” and insulting Mr. Trump by naming the bill after him.