TAMPA, Fla. -- Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren of the 13th Judicial Circuit due to "neglect of office."
DeSantis says Warren has repeatedly refused to enforce laws passed by the legislature cracking down on child sex change surgeries and abortion restrictions.
The Florida governor's office released the full executive order outlining the decision to suspend Warren.
It includes Warren signing a joint statement in support of gender-transition treatments for children and bathroom usage based on gender identity and his "public declaration that he would not enforce criminal laws enacted by the Florida Legislature that prohibit providers from performing certain abortions to protect the lives of unborn children."
Gov. DeSantis held a press conference Thursday morning to make the announcement.
"The constitution of Florida has vested the veto power in the governor, not in state attorneys," DeSantis said. "We are not going to allow this pathogen of ignoring the law get a foothold in the state of Florida."
Susan Lopez, County Court Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit in and for Hillsborough County, has been appointed to serve as State Attorney during Warren's suspension.
Warren provided this statement on the suspension:
Today’s political stunt is an illegal overreach that continues a dangerous pattern by Ron DeSantis of using his office to further his own political ambition. It spits in the face of the voters of Hillsborough County who have twice elected me to serve them, not Ron DeSantis. In our community, crime is low, our Constitutional rights—including the right to privacy—are being upheld, and the people have the right to elect their own leaders—not have them dictated by an aspiring presidential candidate who has shown time and again he feels accountable to no one.