Pitching his administration’s conservative record as a national blueprint for Capitol Hill, Gov. Ron DeSantis rallied Republicans in Osceola County Tuesday night, portraying Navy veteran Dan Green’s bid for Florida’s 9th Congressional District as part of a broader push to bring aggressive Florida-style governance to Washington.

Speaking before a crowd in St. Cloud, south of Orlando, DeSantis pointed to his administration’s high-profile battles on education policy, state spending reductions and corporate pushback and urged voters to bring that same combative, policy-driven mandate to the halls of Congress.

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER DESANTIS GIVES ‘SOROS’ PROTESTER A PIECE OF HIS MIND: ‘AIN’T MY FIRST RODEO’

«I will say that I’m looking forward to y’all getting the congressman elected that has served this country and that has served for the right reasons. Now, I am a big believer that we need term limits for members of Congress. But until we do that, you can show your current guy the term limit by kicking him out of office.

«So, I think what we need is what we’ve done in Florida. It can be a model for people like Dan going to Washington, other states, you name it, because it’s not just about peacocking and putting social media press releases out and never getting anything done. We have fought every big fight that there has been to fight in the state of Florida, and we have won every big fight that there is to fight in Florida.»

DeSantis rallied the conservative faithful with a recap, alleging major victories over left-wing institutions, agencies and agendas.

«Just think about it. We beat Dr. Fauci on COVID. We beat Disney on gender ideology. We beat Soros on crime by removing two of his prosecutors. We beat Martha’s Vineyard on illegal immigration.

«We just beat the Muslim Brotherhood by banning Sharia law. We beat the teachers unions by enacting universal school choice for all Florida families. We beat SEIU by doing paycheck protection.

«Every single time there was a fight, we would beat and win the fights. And that’s ultimately what it’s all about. Because leadership — when it’s popular, when it’s easy — anyone can do that. ‘I’ll just go with the flow,’ all this other stuff. It really matters when it is tough and when you’re going to face arrows.»

TRUMP’S HANDPICKED DESANTIS SUCCESSOR WINS CROWDED GOP PRIMARY FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR

DeSantis repeatedly emphasized that his top priority was sticking to the courage of his convictions, not seeking political expediency or going along to get along.

«I remember during COVID, I was doing things, and people said, ‘Oh, he’s not shutting down the beaches. Why does he have these people in school?’ And all this other stuff. You know, people come after you, and a lot of people told me that I was frittering away my governorship, that I wouldn’t be able to win in ’22, and all this other stuff. I don’t know if that was true. Who knows, right? 

«But when you get in a position to lead, you either do it or you should just sit down. My job was not to be worried about my own political hide. My job was to be worried about protecting the liberty, jobs, and businesses of the people I was elected to serve. So, we started the fire, and we gave them his right.»

It is clear that the two-term governor considers his famed battle with Disney to be a particular feather in his cap.

«Nobody in the history of the state had ever taken on Disney in anything. A lot of people told me I was making a mistake,» DeSantis said.

«But the reality is, do we want a society in which our 6-year-olds are being told they can change genders, or do we want a society rooted in truth? If you want a society rooted in truth, even if the biggest, most powerful corporation in the state is against you, you’ve got to stand up and you’ve got to fight. And we fought, and we won.»

As the federal debt has topped a staggering $40 trillion, DeSantis made the case that he has taken the state on a markedly divergent course.

«Just look at the results. For four straight years, Florida has reduced its budget. Is any other state in the country reducing spending? We’ve done it four years in a row,» DeSantis said.

«I was just able to announce today if you take all of Florida’s debt for all of our history up until the time I became governor, just in my tenure, we will retire 54% of the state’s debt, more than cutting it in half. 

«We’ve been ranked No. 1 for education freedom, and our public university system is ranked No. 1. We have the lowest in-state tuition of any state in the United States, and it’s the exact same cost today to students and families that it was the day I took office. 

«It did not go up one penny under my tenure. Is there anything else that didn’t go up? The dollar menu at McDonald’s is all $2.99 now. Everything else has gone up, but that has not gone up.»

And DeSantis touts Florida as a national leader in lowering taxes for its citizens and called for voters to back Amendment 3 in Florida, which would pave the way for elimination of non-school property taxes.

«If you look at tax relief, we’ve done $10 billion over my tenure — more than anyone. Some of it is permanent, like no tax on baby items, back-to-school items and no tax on business rent. But, really, the big enchilada is going to be on the ballot in November when you have a chance on Amendment 3 to vote yourself more control over your own home and not let them tax you to death. So vote yes on 3.

As Republicans face headwinds heading into the midterms in a little over a month, DeSantis drew a parallel between this year’s election, and the 2018 election, which propelled him to the governor’s mansion by a narrow margin.

«We’ve done all this stuff, but I think the lesson is this: When I won eight years ago, it was kind of similar to how it is now. People were saying it was a ‘blue year.’ There was a lot of wind in the face of Republican candidates,» DeSantis recalled.

«A lot of people thought Florida was a swing state — that we were purple — where one point had decided all these races for the previous decade. A lot of people didn’t think I could even win given those circumstances. And even if I won, they said, ‘Well, the state’s going to go blue. You’ve got all these people moving from Puerto Rico, the Northeast, anything.’ So, I’m running. It wasn’t easy, and we won.»

DeSantis maintains he has never taken a poll as a means to determine a position on an issue.

«It was a close race, so I had a choice to make: Do I try to tiptoe around the tulips, not offend anybody, and just try to walk this tight line? Or do I say, ‘You know what? I won the election. I got 100% of the executive power, and I didn’t get elected to follow. I got elected to lead,’» DeSantis said.

«So, I am going to fly the banner of bold colors, not pale pastels. I’m going to do what I believe in. I am not going to take any polls. I have not to this day ever polled a single issue in my entire time as governor.

«The reason is simple. … It depends on how you ask the question, right? I can tweak the words and get a different result. But also, what does a poll actually mean? Like Popeye said, ‘I am what I am,’ right?»

florida, politics, house of representatives politics, house of representatives, governors

Federal inspectors identified one or more documentation or vetting errors in 40% of asylum applications they reviewed for Afghan nationals admitted under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program, concluding the deficiencies increased the risk U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) could miss information that may have made some applicants ineligible for asylum.

The Sept. 23 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General report reviewed a sample of 678 asylum applications filed by Afghan nationals admitted through Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden administration initiative launched after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Inspectors identified 303 missing aliases, 23 missing security checks and more than 150 additional documentation deficiencies, including two cases involving applicants who may have been inadmissible on terrorism-related grounds.

FORMER USCIS OFFICIAL, ACCOMPLICE CHARGED IN ALLEGED $960K CITIZENSHIP BRIBERY SCHEME

The findings come as Operation Allies Welcome has faced renewed scrutiny following several high-profile arrests of Afghan nationals admitted under the program. 

Digital has previously reported on the arrests of an alleged ISIS-K supporter, an Afghan national charged with making terroristic threats and another Afghan national admitted under Operation Allies Welcome who was later arrested after being convicted of indecent exposure to a minor.

In a press release, DHS argued the report demonstrated the Biden administration «dangerously mismanaged» Operation Allies Welcome, saying a lawsuit settlement that required USCIS to adjudicate 90% of asylum applications within 150 days forced the agency to prioritize speed over more thorough reviews.

The DHS inspector general report, which noted hundreds of aliases had not been recorded for applicants, underscored the importance of accurate record keeping, pointing out one applicant had 124 known aliases. 

The report said that «missed FBI name checks» accounted for nearly 60% of the absent security checks that the report identified. 

The report also flagged two asylum applications involving applicants with potential terrorism-related concerns. In one case, required paperwork documenting the government’s review was missing entirely. In another, supervisors began the approval process but never completed the final step, leaving no clear record that the review had been finished.

ARMY VET LAWMAKER MARKS ABBEY GATE ANNIVERSARY WITH BLISTERING MESSAGE FOR BIDEN-HARRIS: ‘ABJECT FAILURE’

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the inspector general’s findings reinforce concerns critics have raised since the chaotic Kabul evacuation in 2021.

«The fact that 40% of these applications have errors is alarming,» Krikorian told Digital. «This IG report just underlines how superficial and even frivolous the vetting that we were assured was going on was.»

Krikorian said many evacuees were first flown to temporary processing hubs, sometimes referred to as «lily pads,» in third countries before ultimately being admitted to the United States. While those locations allowed U.S. officials to conduct additional processing, he argued the practical reality was that partner countries were not going to permanently accept the evacuees, leaving the United States effectively committed to resettling them.

HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL’S KILLING LEAVES AGENCY ‘DEVASTATED’ AS VETTING BREAKDOWN EXPOSED

«As soon as that cargo bay door closed, we’re stuck with those people,» Krikorian said, noting how the United States effectively committed itself to resettling evacuees once they boarded evacuation flights during the chaotic Kabul withdrawal.

Krikorian argued the inspector general’s report likely understated the scope of the problem because inspectors could only identify documentation deficiencies visible in the files they reviewed, not determine whether every applicant had been thoroughly vetted.

The inspector general ultimately made five recommendations aimed at strengthening USCIS’ review of Operation Allies Welcome asylum applications, including improving documentation of applicant aliases, ensuring required security checks are properly recorded and enhancing oversight of adjudication files. 

USCIS agreed with all five recommendations, according to the report.

homeland security, afghanistan, immigration, foreign policy, politics

Nayib Bukele transformó el sistema político de El Salvador con una fórmula que combina el combate frontal contra las pandillas, una comunicación digital centrada en su figura y una concentración de poder que despierta cuestionamientos dentro y fuera del país.

El presidente salvadoreño llegó al poder en 2019 como una alternativa a la Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA) y al Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), los dos partidos que dominaron la política nacional desde el final de la guerra civil.

Cinco años después, obtuvo la reelección con el 84.65% de los votos, según consignó el Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) en aquel momento, y ha consolidado a Nuevas Ideas como fuerza dominante.

Bukele nació el 24 de julio de 1981 en San Salvador, en una familia de origen palestino. Su padre, Armando Bukele Kattán, fue ingeniero químico y empresario; su madre, Olga Marina Ortez, es católica.

Antes de ingresar en la política, trabajó en el sector publicitario y fundó una empresa del rubro a los 18 años. Esa experiencia contribuyó a definir uno de los rasgos más visibles de su carrera: el manejo de marcas, mensajes breves y redes sociales.

Su primer cargo electivo llegó en 2012, cuando fue elegido alcalde de Nuevo Cuscatlán bajo la bandera del FMLN, según consta en diferentes medios nacionales.

Tres años más tarde asumió la alcaldía de San Salvador, desde donde amplió su proyección nacional con una imagen de dirigente joven, alejado de las estructuras tradicionales y activo en plataformas digitales.

La relación con el FMLN se deterioró con rapidez. El partido lo expulsó el 10 de octubre de 2017, de acuerdo con datos publicados por medios digitales e impresos en el país, en medio de disputas con la dirigencia.

Bukele convirtió ese conflicto en el punto de partida de su proyecto propio: el 25 de octubre anunció la creación de Nuevas Ideas, movimiento que más tarde obtuvo reconocimiento legal como partido político.

En las elecciones de 2019 compitió bajo la bandera de la Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional (GANA), debido a que Nuevas Ideas todavía no podía postularlo. Bukele ganó en primera vuelta con el 53.10% de los votos y asumió el 1 de junio de ese año. Su victoria puso fin a tres décadas de alternancia entre ARENA y el FMLN.

La principal fuente de legitimidad del gobierno de Bukele ha sido su política contra las pandillas. El Ejecutivo articuló esa estrategia a través del Plan Control Territorial, mismo que comprende el despliegue de policías y militares, reformas penales y un régimen de excepción vigente desde marzo de 2022.

El Gobierno sostiene que estas medidas han permitido reducir de manera drástica los homicidios y recuperar zonas que habían permanecido bajo control de las maras. La percepción de mayor seguridad aparece de forma reiterada como el principal motivo de respaldo al presidente en los sondeos de opinión.

La construcción del Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) se convirtió en uno de los símbolos de esa política. La prisión fue diseñada para alojar a cientos de presuntos integrantes de pandillas y proyectó internacionalmente la imagen de un Estado dispuesto a aplicar un esquema de encarcelamiento masivo.

El modelo, sin embargo, ha recibido críticas de organizaciones de derechos humanos, académicos y organismos internacionales. Las objeciones se concentran en las detenciones masivas, las dificultades para ejercer la defensa, la ampliación de los plazos de detención y las denuncias sobre arrestos de personas sin vínculos comprobados con estructuras criminales.

El poder político quedó concentrado en torno a su figura

Durante su administración, Bukele ha sido cuestionado por decisiones relacionadas con la reducción de los contrapesos institucionales. En 2021, la Asamblea Legislativa dominada por Nuevas Ideas destituyó a magistrados de la Sala de lo Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia (CSJ) y al fiscal general.

Sus críticos consideran que esas medidas, junto con la continuidad del régimen de excepción y el control oficialista de la Asamblea, han debilitado la independencia de poderes. Sus seguidores, en cambio, defienden que las reformas han permitido destrabar un sistema que identifican con la corrupción y la ineficacia de los gobiernos anteriores.

La reelección de 2024 profundizó ese debate. Bukele obtuvo un segundo mandato tras una interpretación constitucional que habilitó su candidatura, pese a que la reelección inmediata había sido históricamente un tema sensible en El Salvador. El presidente inició su actual período el 1 de junio de 2024, con mandato previsto hasta 2029; disposición que cambió tras las últimas reformas electorales, en las cuales se adelantaron los comicios a 2027.

La imagen digital amplificó su liderazgo

La figura de Nayib Bukele está estrechamente asociada al uso directo de redes sociales. Desde esas plataformas anuncia decisiones, responde a opositores, divulga operativos de seguridad y construye una narrativa de ruptura con la política tradicional.

En su perfil de X se definió como “Philosopher King” y, frente a las acusaciones de autoritarismo, llegó a presentarse como el “dictador más cool del mundo”. La ironía es parte de estrategia para neutralizar las críticas y reforzar su imagen de dirigente desafiante ante organismos internacionales, opositores y medios.

Diferentes encuestas han mostrado niveles de aprobación que han oscilaron entre el 80% y el 94% entre 2019 y 2026. La mejora en seguridad explica gran parte de ese respaldo, aunque los estudios también registran inquietudes por la economía, el costo de vida y la percepción de que el Gobierno favorece a los sectores de mayores ingresos.

el salvador,nayib bukele