EXTREMISM
This ‘Sneaky’ DeSantis Power Grab Might Be His Cruelest Yet
For months now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been aggressively using his executive power to deny transgender medical care for two of society’s most vulnerable groups—children and the poor. In that, he has been far from alone, as Republicans across the country lean into an ugly backlash against the trans community and the science that supports it.
Along the way, DeSantis has been employing a power grab some fear will be adopted by other Republican governors—with disastrous results.
As part of DeSantis’ ongoing MAGA crusade against progressives, his administration is simultaneously using different state agencies to cut off what is referred to as “gender-affirming” care that helps trans people realize their identities. When a far-right state legislator failed to pass an anti-trans bill earlier this year, the governor resorted to backroom bureaucracy to get the same result.
It’s the latest instance of DeSantis implementing increasingly cruel policies as he builds a national reputation in the run-up to a possible 2024 run for the White House.
But it also illustrates what political commentators say distinguishes DeSantis from his presumptive primary foe, former President Donald Trump. DeSantis knows how to operate the machinery of government effectively—as a weapon against the marginalized.
And time is running out for anyone to stop him.
“We’re worried that DeSantis is creating a playbook for political ideology. Legislatures are failing to pass these laws because they are against science—and against what constituents in states want to be done with tax dollars. Governors are going to see this and think this is something they can do to sidestep the democratic process,” said Carl Charles, a civil rights lawyer with the advocacy group Lambda Legal, which is fighting to block one of those policies.
The governor’s attack is something of a pincer movement. His administration targeted the poor by eliminating state Medicaid coverage for transgender care in August, and it is currently preparing to bar doctors from providing related services to minors.
“They’re trying to destroy us. They think we’re less than everybody. They think people don’t empathize with us. And unfortunately, he’s targeting the youngest people,” said Andrea Montanez, a trans woman who began her medical transition when she was a TSA supervisor at Orlando’s international airport and now works as a human rights activist.
Montanez is worried that the state’s refusal to cover some people in the transgender community could embolden insurance companies to do the same.
“It’s scary,” she told The Daily Beast. “If the state starts with this, private companies will follow their example.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-governor-ron-desantis-anti-trans-campaign-is-sneaky-power-grab
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