Press Releases

Today, Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (NV-04), members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the only Black female state attorney duly elected in Florida, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell: 

“Florida State Attorney Monique Worrell was elected with over 65 percent of the vote from the very community she is fighting to protect and defend – yet Gov. Ron DeSantis has decided to cast aside the will of the people and the voters who made themselves heard at the ballot box by forcibly removing her from her duly elected office for his own political gain.

“Make no mistake, State Attorney Worrell has done nothing wrong. This abuse of power by Gov. DeSantis is not only an attack on Democratic Black leaders in Florida, but an attack on our democracy itself. 

“The Governor knows that his fraud suspension is unconstitutional. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled against his suspension of State Attorney Andrew Warren, but this has not stopped Gov. DeSantis from turning his attention to the only Black woman currently elected to serve in this position. 

“Under Gov. DeSantis, Florida has undoubtedly become a hotbed for extremist GOP leaders who want to rewrite the rules of our democracy for their own gain. Our democracy cannot function properly when those in power are allowed to remove a duly elected official with a stroke of a pen simply because they disagree with opposing views or someone's very existence in the halls of power. 

“The Congressional Black Caucus stands committed to offering our support and united voices to help State Attorney Worrell in this unjust fight. Her removal is yet another marker in the long, conservative waged war against the will of Black people in the State of Florida, and we will not stand by as it happens.”