More fiery words were fired Thursday, with Washington Democrats and the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration continuing not to align on much, including on the coronavirus response.
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee took issue with Florida’s “grandstanding” Governor in a pair of tweets Wednesday and Thursday. The Governor’s Office, meanwhile, suggests these “cheap political shots” evidence misplaced priorities.
It is rare for a Congressional committee to offer unsolicited critiques of governors on social media, but in a pair of tweets, the panel’s Twitter account remonstrated DeSantis, a former member of Congress himself.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida is averaging more than 20,000 new infections each day, with one of the highest rates in the country. DeSantis needs to stop grandstanding & listen to his constituents,” the account advised Thursday, linking to an article documenting “growing resistance” to the Governor’s COVID-19 strategy.
On Wednesday, similar hectoring came from the account.
“Florida is experiencing the most devastating COVID-19 surge since the pandemic started, Gov. DeSantis. A Tropical storm is heading for Florida. It’s time to put politics aside and help your state,” it said.
DeSantis’ press secretary contended he was already helping the state, and the politicization is coming from Washington.
“The Homeland Security Committee should be more concerned about the crisis at our southern border, and the Taliban’s likelihood of taking over Afghanistan, than the situation in Florida. The committee members should be focused on national security issues, not taking cheap political shots at Governor DeSantis,” remarked DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw.
“I thought Democrats would stop blaming governors for COVID surges after California saw the most devastating winter surge in the country after months of Gavin Newsom’s lockdowns and mask mandates, but apparently, these Congress members have short memories and a poor understanding of COVID-19,” Pushaw added.
“Meanwhile, Governor DeSantis is focused on ensuring Floridians have access to life saving monoclonal antibody treatments. We appreciate that Biden’s COVID task force recognizes the value in MABs and hope all politicians, in the White House, Congress and here in Florida, will put politics aside to help ensure their constituents are aware of and able to access treatment for COVID.”
DeSantis’ one press event Thursday, in Jacksonville, saw focus on bringing monoclonal antibody therapies to people. Of late, he has strongly evangelized for them.
“There’s clear benefits to this early treatment for keeping people out of the hospital and reducing mortality,” DeSantis said.
Many Floridians may be in a position to benefit from this treatment. Data from the Florida Hospital Association shows 15,358 hospitalizations and 24,753 new daily cases as of Monday.
The back and forth continues an ongoing rhetorical battle between DeSantis and establishment Democrats. President Joe Biden and Press Secretary Jen Psaki have criticized DeSantis for opposing their virus mitigation strategies. DeSantis has responded in kind, and also fundraised off the controversy.
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