Orlando Standard

The Members Demand Oversight Chair Heed Calls to Investigate Pattern of Anti-Democratic Abuses in Florida

WASHINGTON DC — On August 10, 2023, Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10), Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD-08), and Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) sent a letter calling for an Oversight Committee hearing following Governor Ron DeSantis’s unjust and unconstitutional suspension of Florida’s only democratically elected Black female State Attorney, Monique Worrell.

In their letter, the Members call on Chairman Comer to heed their repeated calls for a Committee hearing to fully examine the anti-democratic abuses of power happening across Florida at the hands of the Governor and his GOP-controlled legislature. 

The move, which marks Governor DeSantis’s second suspension of a Democratic state attorney, comes after Congressman Frost hosted an emergency ad-hoc hearing back in June where Members heard directly from witnesses, including State Representative Anna Eskamani, former State Attorney Andrew Warren and former Duval County substitute teacher Brian Covey – who all depicted a picture of state leadership hungry for power and entrenched in modern day fascism and authoritarianism. 

In their letter, the Members write: “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…Given the seriousness of the current attack on democracy and freedom in Florida and other states, the urgent need for Congressional action has become more dire than ever. A full Committee hearing is essential to understand the pattern of these abuses of power and to identify the steps that must be taken to protect the rights and freedoms of Floridians and Americans living in other states witnessing similar attacks.”

For the full text of the letter, please click here.

Original source can be found here.