Lawmakers are gearing up to change Florida's "resign-to-run" law, allowing Republican Ron DeSantis to run for president if he chooses without stepping down as governor.
On Tuesday, Republican state Sen. Travis Hudson made finishing changes to a section of Senate Bill 7050, a broader election reform bill that includes numerous changes to mail-in voting and tools for countering election fraud.
Hudson's changes exempt anyone running for president or vice president from a requirement that officials resign within 10 days of qualifying for federal office, removing current ambiguities.
The legislation has the backing of two of Florida's top legislative Republicans, House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, Insider reported last year.
It comes amid controversy surrounding the language of Florida's existing law, which has stoked confusion on if DeSantis can challenge former President Donald Trump while in office.
The former president's campaign has already accused him of violating the existing law, calling it a "month-long, taxpayer-funded presidential campaign schedule paid for by Florida taxpayers" in a new email.
"Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to campaign full-time for president, during the Florida legislative session, while collecting a salary and having the taxpayers pick up the costs for his travel and security," said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung. "It's a massive flip-flop from his position in 2018."
Still, it is unclear if DeSantis will even seek to challenge Trump in 2024.
While confronted by reporters on recent polling that shows him behind Trump, DeSantis declared: "I'm not a candidate, so we'll see if and when that changes."
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