Ron DeSantis Could Launch 2024 Presidential Bid In June: Report

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is supposedly eyeing the first two weeks of June to formally announce his bid for the presidency, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report came the same day Florida lawmakers passed legislation allowing DeSantis to run for president without resigning as governor.

A GOP ally of DeSantis filed the resign-to-run exemption as an amendment to a larger Republican election law package. It was passed by the Senate on Wednesday and the House on Friday, according to a Washington Post report.

Political experts have speculated for months on the possibility and timing of a White House bid by DeSantis, who would join former President Donald Trump in a Republican primary. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley have also announced their plans to run.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is exploring a run for the White House. More GOP contenders are expected to join the field in the coming weeks.

Advisers are reportedly considering a kickoff event in DeSantis' hometown of Dunedin, people familiar with the governor's plans told Bloomberg. Events in swing states Ohio and Pennsylvania are also under consideration, Bloomberg reported.

Republicans, who control a supermajority in the statehouse, have primarily focused on the governor's conservative priorities during the current legislative session, approving bills that will likely form much of the governor's platform when he launches his White House bid.

Meanwhile, DeSantis has leaned heavily into cultural divides on his path to an anticipated White House bid.

Earlier this month, DeSantis signed into law a measure banning abortions in the state after six weeks of pregnancy. The legislation's passage solidified Florida's place among a handful of states with the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation and gave the governor a critical political victory among Republican primary voters.

Last week, the Florida Board of Education approved a request by DeSantis to expand a controversial law prohibiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to all grades.

The Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, was signed into law last year. Currently, the bill prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade "in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students."

"We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination," DeSantis said at the news conference following the bill's signing.

Regardless, DeSantis — who has operated for much of the year with a quiet confidence that he could enter the race on his terms — isn't likely to make any announcements until after the state legislature concludes its business in early May.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.