Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to head to Texas on Saturday for a U.S. border security briefing with Texas's governor, just days after several Central Florida sheriffs took a tour of the border.

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Accompanying DeSantis will be Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen, according to a news release issued by the Governor's Office on Friday afternoon.

DeSantis, who is up for reelection next year and is widely considered a potential Republican frontrunner for the White House in 2024, is among a group of GOP governors who have followed former President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration measures, seeking to revive a potent political weapon against Democrats for the 2022 midterm elections. 

The Republican governor and his entourage are due to fly into Del Rio International Airport, just north of the Southern border and about 160 miles due west of San Antonio, the release said.

 

On Thursday, law enforcement officials from several Florida counties toured the border with GOP Rep. Kat Cammack whose 3rd Congressional District includes parts of Alachua and Marion counties. Sheriffs who made the trip include Mike Chitwood from Volusia County, Rick Staly from Flagler County and Billy Woods from Marion County. Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken also attended.

 

“People need to realize we’re in trouble in this country,” Chitwood said on Twitter. “It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue or independent issue, it’s an American issue.”

He said he's concerned that with Border Patrol busy with families crossing the border into the U.S., “drug smugglers and criminals” are also coming into the country. 

In a Facebook post, Chitwood addressed concerns about the cost of the trip to the border.