DeSantis wants to move feds outside D.C.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Bradenton campus of State College of Florida on Jan. 31. Photo: James A. Jones Jr./Bradenton Herald via Getty Images

Showing some leg on a future national agenda, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tells interviewer Salena Zito that many federal-government departments should be moved outside D.C.

• Why it matters: This is a new, action-oriented approach to former President Trump's "Drain the Swamp" mantra. DeSantis unveiled it as his team gears up for a potential 2024 GOP presidential run.

State of play: DeSantis beats former President Trump in an increasing number of polls of Republican voters about their '24 preferences.

• The governor often makes national news for culture-war controversies. His Florida brand is built around "freedom," including a "Framework for Freedom" state budget unveiled this month.

"Too much power has accumulated in D.C., and the result is a detached administrative state that rules over us and imposes its will on us,” DeSantis told Zito in an interview in today's New York Post, teased on the tabloid's cover as "HOME RON."

• "While there are a host of things that need to be done to re-constitutionalize government, parceling out federal agencies to other parts of the country could help reduce the negative effects of this accumulation of power."

What's next: DeSantis will be out Feb. 28 with a campaign-style book, "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival." Read a book excerpt.

• He's heading into a March-April legislative session with veto-proof Republican majorities in both chambers — meaning he's likely to clean up on his agenda.

Go deeper: First installment of Salena Zito's interview, from Dunedin, Fla., "The DeSantis they know."

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