Aug. 10 (UPI) — Democratic lawmakers are pushing the House Oversight Committee to investigate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his alleged efforts to “subvert democracy.”
Jaime Raskin, the ranking Democratic member on the committee, joined congressmen Maxwell Frost and Daniel Goldman in penning a letter to the committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, addressing concerns about DeSantis’ firing of elected attorneys in the state.
DeSantis on Wednesday suspended the state’s lone elected Black circuit prosecutor, Monique Worrell, a Democrat whose Ninth Judicial District covered Orange and Osceola counties, for “neglecting her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction.”
She was the second state prosecutor removed by DeSantis, who has aggressively sought to shape the political landscape in Florida. The controversial governor previously sacked state attorney Andrew Warren.
Florida law allows the governor to suspend elected officials, despite the will of the people, for reasons including his belief that there has been a neglect of duty.
“In May, we asked you to convene an Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on the shocking trends of anti-democratic abuses of power in the state. Our concerns have gone unanswered and, without any oversight or accountability, the situation continues to worsen,” the letter reads.
“Under its current administration, Florida’s executive and legislative branches of government have engaged in a relentless assault on the fundamental rights and freedoms of Floridians.
“The Florida Governor has continued to force through this repressive agenda by extreme and lawless means and has taken further acts of political intimidation tactics against elected officials. Since our initial correspondence, the situation in Florida has continued to escalate.”