A proposed six-week abortion ban is advancing in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has indicated support for the restrictions as he prepares a potential presidential run.

Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke Thursday at a restaurant in Winter Haven about the state’s response to coronavirus, three years after the start of the pandemic.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was sworn in Tuesday for a second term, offering a theme of “freedom lives here in our great Sunshine State” to counter “faddish ideology” nationally.

The Florida Cabinet returned to an all-Republican lineup Tuesday as outgoing Senate President Wilton Simpson was elected agriculture commissioner and Attorney General Ashley Moody and state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis won second terms.

Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet, acting as the Board of Executive Clemency, did away with the waiting periods on Wednesday. It opens the door for thousands of so-called “returning citizens” to have their rights restored. It also may wipe out a backlog of thousands of cases awaiting review. Osiris said the decision by the Clemency Board “steps in the historical stream” of the civil rights movement. “(It) is doing something that we have been fighting for, for years, so I think it is time to celebrate,” Osiris said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried calling for a coordinated response by statewide elected officials to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday defended the actions of agencies under his control. DeSantis and the Cabinet also held a conference call on May 28. Fried, the lone statewide elected Democrat, has repeatedly called for Cabinet meetings and more coordination amid the pandemic. “When you talk to like a hospital or all these places, it’s not only that we’re there to help, they’ll say that, but we’re there very quickly when someone needs something,” DeSantis told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

North Florida Land Trust photoTALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet agreed Tuesday to spend $7.6 million to conserve more than 8,100 acres in Putnam and Walton counties. The acquisitions include a parcel in Putnam County that is part the Etoniah/Cross Florida Greenway Florida Forever project and two deals in Walton County that are part of a broader conservation effort known as the Seven Runs Creek Final Phase Florida Forever project. The conservation easement allows the Williams to continue to own the land while ensuring it will be preserved for future generations. PREVIOUS STORY: Cabinet could OK conserving more than 3,500 acres in Putnam CountyEach deal involves purchasing a conservation easement on the properties.

Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet next week are scheduled to consider land deals that could help conserve more than 8,100 acres in Walton and Putnam counties. The proposals include two deals in Walton County that are part of a broader conservation effort known as the Seven Runs Creek Final Phase Florida Forever project. One of the proposals involves paying $2.42 million to Nokuse Education, Inc. for a 2,436-acre conservation easement, according to an agenda for the Sept. 24 Cabinet meeting. The other Walton proposal involves paying $2.315 million to the Stella Davis 2015 Plantation Trust for a 2,133-acre conservation easement. The targeted land in Putnam County is part of a broader conservation effort known as the Etoniah/Cross Florida Greenway Florida Forever project.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Floridas top financial regulator was fired Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Cabinet members, after a controversy sparked by an employee lodging a sexual harassment complaint. DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody backed Patronis call to end Rubins employment and begin the search for a replacement. When asked if the political climate would hinder the search, DeSantis said his office will be more active in recruiting a replacement. Patronis public release of a redacted version of the initial sexual harassment complaint also is under review by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - An inspector general report into sexual-harassment allegations against suspended financial regulator Ronald Rubin has been placed on the agenda for next weeks meeting of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet. State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is pushing to fire Rubin, who was hired in February as commissioner of the state Office of Financial Regulation. Rubin was hired by DeSantis and the Cabinet, which is made up of Patronis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. When asked for comment on the inspector-general report, Moody spokeswoman Lauren Schenone said, Attorney General Moody called for an emergency Cabinet meeting months ago to discuss this matter.Representatives of Fried and DeSantis had not replied to requests for comment.

And while the new lineup is slightly less well-off than the previous Cabinet, Fried, Moody and Patronis each top seven figures in net worth, according to newly filed financial-disclosure reports. Among financial liabilities, Fried listed $28,750 remaining on a car loan and $76,098 on a student loan. The reports typically reflect finances at the end of the previous year, but some officials, such as Fried, file more updated information. He reported a net worth of $6,626,733 as of Dec. 31, up from $6,490,372 a year earlier. After getting elected in November, Moody replaced former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who reported a net worth of $1,861,777 as of Dec. 31.