Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to seek a repeal of the First Step Act, the 2018 bipartisan federal criminal justice reform that aimed to reduce recidivism, give non-violent prisoners a way to shorten their sentences, and cut mandatory minimum sentences. "Under the Trump administration — he enacted a bill, basically a jailbreak bill, it's called the First Step Act. It has allowed dangerous people out of prison who have now re-offended, and really, really hurt a number of people," DeSantis told the Daily Wire. "So one of the things I would want to do as president is ... seek the repeal of the First Step Act. If you are in jail, you should serve your time. And the idea that they're releasing people who have not been rehabilitated early, so that they can prey on people in our society is a huge, huge mistake," he added, reports Fox News.
DeSantis voted for the first version of the bill as a member of the House in 2018, the same year he was elected as Florida's governor. He resigned before the final, more moderate version of the bill came to a vote. Trump's campaign responded to DeSantis by pointing to his original vote, and argued he was basically criticizing his own supporters in Congress who also voted for the bill. "Lyin' Ron. He voted for the First Step Act. Would be a shame if there was video of him praising it in an interview with a local FL television station..." tweeted Trump spokesperson Stephen Cheung. "DeSantis supporter [Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY] voted for the bill as well. DeSantis is calling out his own Congressional supporters and throwing them under the bus," Cheung added. The slight from DeSantis is the latest in a series of criticisms aimed at Trump.