Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said there is "zero" chance he will back down from his feud with the Disney corporation despite its announcement this week that it is canceling an almost $1 billion office project in Orlando that would've brought in several thousand jobs.
"They want to have their own government in this state. They've had their own government for 50 years. It's massive corporate welfare," The Hill reported DeSantis said of Disney during a stop at a New Hampshire diner on Friday. "We are not doing that. They are going to live under the same laws as everybody else. They're going to pay their fair share of taxes, and they're not going to govern themselves."
His comments come after Disney said this week that it is scrapping a $900 million office construction project in the Orlando area that would employ more than 2,000 people.
According to the report, the company's move has led some Republicans in the state to tell DeSantis, who appears to be near announcing a 2024 presidential run, to use caution dealing with Disney.
"I think we've got to figure out a way forward here to bring everybody back to the table," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said in an interview with NewsNation's "The Hill," "so we can continue to grow tourism, grow jobs — you know, give opportunities for people."
DeSantis has been at war with Disney since signing legislation prohibiting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation to elementary students in pre-K through eighth grades.
After Disney criticized the legislation, which has since been expanded to cover students through 12th grade, DeSantis moved for the state to revoke a special arrangement with the company to govern its own properties, including waivers for zoning and building codes.
According to The Wall Street Journal, DeSantis and the state reclaimed control over the special tax district that encompassed all of Disney's Orlando-area theme parks and attractions in March, only to have the former board of the district reach an agreement with the new board keeping zoning and air-rights agreements with the corporation in case of any expansions.
DeSantis, however, quickly swooped in to nullify those agreements, leading Disney to file a lawsuit against DeSantis and the state for retaliation, the report said.
"[Disney] can do whatever they want," DeSantis said. "I know people try to chirp and say this or that, but the chance of us backing down from that is zero."
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