DeSantis shakes up Florida redistricting as veto concerns grow - POLITICO

Ron DeSantis upended Florida’s redistricting process over the weekend, submitting his own proposed congressional map that carves out more Republican-friendly districts and is already sparking threats of lawsuits.

DeSantis’ general counsel, Ryan Newman, formally filed the proposed map Sunday night in a move that surprised leaders in the GOP-led Florida House and Senate.

The lawmakers see the highly unusual proposal as the most direct signal yet that DeSantis would veto the congressional map already awaiting a yet-to-be-scheduled floor vote in the Senate.

“@GovRonDeSantis off the bench and into the game to make it interesting,” Republican Party of Florida Vice Chair Christian Ziegler tweeted Sunday shortly after the DeSantis maps became public.

“Fact >> I had a TON of people come up to me at the Trump Rally in Arizona asking about Florida Congressional Maps & if DeSantis was going to get involved.”.

The Florida House has been taking a slower approach and has several draft maps still in play, including one that largely aligns with the Senate plan and another that much closely mirrors what DeSantis is proposing.

Newman, the DeSantis administration’s top attorney, issued a statement through the governor's office shortly after releasing his maps that indicated they had “legal concerns” about in-play congressional maps, which DeSantis has the authority to veto.

“We have submitted an alternative proposal, which we can support, that adhere to federal and state requirements and addresses our legal concerns, while working to increase district compactness, minimize county splits where feasible, and protect minority voting populations,” Newman wrote in a statement that Florida House and Senate map drawers viewed as a veiled veto threat.

One of the proposed new districts would include some of the 25th Congressional District, currently held by Republican Mario Diaz-Balart.