GOP-led Florida House plays hardball with DeSantis on AI, medical freedom — again

Republican leaders in the Florida House on Tuesday opened a special legislative session by swiftly sidelining two of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top policy priorities — new restrictions on artificial intelligence and expanded vaccine exemptions — deepening an increasingly public rift between the governor and his own party.

House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican locked in a feud with DeSantis, made clear within minutes of gaveling in that the chamber would ignore both issues, instead focusing solely on redrawing Florida’s congressional map.

The AI bill would have imposed sweeping restrictions, including banning companion chatbots for minors, requiring bots to repeatedly disclose they are not human, and limiting the use of AI tools in elementary schools.

The vaccine proposal would have expanded exemptions to school immunization requirements and allowed medications like ivermectin to be sold without a prescription — though it stopped short of eliminating mandates entirely.

“There were no [House] bills filed on these policies prior to the start of this special session,” Perez told lawmakers. “Consequently, we will not be taking up those issues.”

Perez said the House plans to complete its redistricting vote Wednesday and adjourn immediately afterward. “Our work here will be finished, and all of you will be free to return home tomorrow afternoon,” he said.

The snubs effectively kill, at least for now, two major planks of DeSantis’ legacy agenda and underscore how little leverage the term-limited governor has left with House leadership.

The term-limited governor has positioned himself as a leading AI skeptic, arguing the rapidly emerging technology poses threats to personal privacy and child safety. DeSantis also championed the medical freedom proposal, which would have cemented the policies that catapulted him to GOP stardom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision marks the latest escalation in a long-simmering feud between DeSantis and Perez, who has sought to assert the House’s independence after years in which lawmakers largely aligned with the governor’s priorities.

For much of DeSantis’ tenure, the Legislature delivered on his agenda with little resistance. But under Perez, the House has repeatedly pushed back — and Tuesday’s move was among the clearest rebukes yet.

Speaking with reporters afterward, Perez defended the decision to sideline the proposals.

On vaccines, he said he was “uncomfortable” with loosening long-standing school immunization requirements, noting that vaccines for diseases like measles and chickenpox “have been working for decades.”

On artificial intelligence, Perez pointed to federal involvement, citing an executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at centralizing AI regulation. He signaled that incoming House Speaker Sam Garrison, R-Jacksonville, would address the issue if Congress does not.

“This is bigger than just one state,” Perez said. “Our hope and expectation is that the federal government can take the lead and get something passed. …If that doesn’t happen, well then, ultimately the state’s got to do what we have to do.”

DeSantis had spent weeks publicly pressuring lawmakers to act, and escalated that campaign in the hours leading up to the session.

In recent days, the governor and his allies have tied AI regulation to a broader public safety argument, including scrutiny of OpenAI following a shooting at Florida State University. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a DeSantis appointee, launched a criminal probe into the company, alleging its chatbot may have interacted with the suspected gunman.

Just an hour before Tuesday’s session began, DeSantis released a stark, 30-second video invoking convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to warn about the dangers of unregulated AI.

“AI grooming and sexually exploiting children. Chatbots coaching kids to suicide,” the video said. “These billionaires are the new digital Epsteins.”

“Will they vote for us?” the video asked, referring to Florida lawmakers, “or will they vote for the digital Epsteins?”

After Perez’s announcement, DeSantis accused House Republicans on social media of siding with the “Big Tech cartel” and the “medical industrial complex.”

Both proposals had cleared the Florida Senate during the regular legislative session but stalled in the House. The Senate reapproved the AI bill on Tuesday and is expected to pass the medical freedom proposal again, but neither can head to the governor’s desk without signoff from the House.

This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 12:31 PM.