Florida’s Governor just went to war with the federal overreach machine.
Ron DeSantis isn’t backing down from another fight with Washington, D.C. bureaucrats.
And Ron DeSantis just set one federal bureaucracy straight with this epic smackdown about tailpipe monitoring.
DeSantis stands firm against Biden’s emission requirements
The battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Washington, D.C. bureaucrats continues to heat up.
This time, DeSantis is taking aim at the federal government’s attempt to force states into monitoring tailpipe emissions in exchange for infrastructure funding.
Speaking at an event in Tampa, DeSantis made it clear he has no intention of allowing federal officials to dictate Florida’s transportation policies.
“They did this infrastructure bill, and you get the bill, and they try to give you money. But then you’ve got to jump through all these hoops,” DeSantis said. “I have to monitor tailpipe emissions for Florida drivers. I am not doing that. I’m not doing the woke roads. I’m not doing any of that.”
The Governor explained that changing state behavior “to get crumbs from the federal government” is not “something that you want to do,” demonstrating his commitment to putting Floridians’ interests above federal pressure tactics.
Florida already rejected millions in federal funding over emissions testing
DeSantis has been battling the feds over this stuff for years now.
Back in 2023, he told Biden’s bureaucrats to take a hike when they dangled $320 million in front of Florida – money that came with the requirement to snoop on Floridians’ vehicle emissions.
“I don’t want to police your tailpipe,” DeSantis told voters at the time, refusing to let Washington, D.C. pencil-pushers dictate Florida’s transportation rules.
And he didn’t stop there.
Last year, DeSantis took the fight even further by launching a website called “Roads are not for Politics.”
The site puts a spotlight on all the sneaky ways Biden’s team tries to force their left-wing agenda into state highway projects.
DeSantis slams Pete Buttigieg’s ‘racist roads’ agenda
DeSantis specifically called out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who had previously claimed that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework would address “racism that went into those design choices” of 20th-century highways that divided many major cities and destroyed neighborhoods.
“In 2022, Biden’s Secretary of Transportation launched a $1 billion transportation project that he said would combat ‘racist roads.’ And I’m thinking, like, everyone drives our roads. We’re not doing, I don’t know where you’re getting that (we’re) trying to do (that),” DeSantis said.
The Florida Governor has consistently condemned what he calls the “woke-ification of federal policy” that started under the Biden administration.
Standing up for state sovereignty
DeSantis’ refusal to implement federal emission monitoring requirements reflects his broader commitment to protecting state sovereignty against what many conservatives see as federal overreach.
By telling Washington, D.C. to pound sand and keep their money, DeSantis is sending a crystal-clear message – Florida won’t be bribed into following the Left’s climate agenda.
The way DeSantis sees it, those federal dollars come at too high a price.
Sure, the extra cash would be nice, but not if it means letting the feds tell Floridians what they can drive or how they should build their roads.
For the Governor, it’s a no-brainer – Florida’s freedom trumps Washington, D.C.’s wallet any day of the week.
