Christina Pushaw, Gov. Ron DeSantis' Press Secretary, departed the administrative Friday to join the Republican Governor's re-election campaign.
The Florida Standard, a conservative new media outlet, was the first to report Pushaw's shuffle and published her resignation letter, which Pushaw sent to Chief of Staff James Uthmeier and Director of Administration Dawn Hanson on Friday. She will become the campaign's Director of Rapid Response beginning Monday.
Deputy Press Secretary Bryan Griffin is expected to step in as lead Press Secretary, according to Pushaw's letter.
"It has been a great honor to serve the people of Florida under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration," she began her letter.
"For the last 15 months, I have been blessed to work with the most dedicated and talented public servants in the country, inspired by the Governor's courage, leadership and bold agenda."
Pushaw thanked DeSantis, Uthmeier and Communications Director Taryn Fenske for her time as Press Secretary.
"You gave me latitude to respond to media narratives in direct and often unconventional ways, allowing me to redefine this role for a leader whose actions speak for themselves," she wrote.
Pushaw's tenure in the administration has been characterized by her combative relationship with the legacy and mainstream media, with the Florida GOP even shutting most media outlets out of its Sunshine Summit last month. Meanwhile, DeSantis and Pushaw have sat down with conservative outlets, like Florida's Voice.
Griffin, who was hired in March, has taken a similar combative approach. Last week, he published his email response to The View after the morning talk show requested an interview with DeSantis. In the email, Bryan quoted The View hosts' past statements about DeSantis and questioned whether The View was genuinely in "pursuit of the truth."
"It has been an honor to work with and learn from (Christina Pushaw). I look forward to serving (Gov. Ron DeSantis) and the people of Florida in this new role. Like Christina did so well, I will ensure the Governor's message is amplified and that false narratives are debunked," Griffin tweeted Friday.
The move comes with less than three months until the Nov. 8 Midterms and a little more than a week until the General Election season begins.
Pushaw, the most prominent gubernatorial Press Secretary in the nation, has sparked controversy at times. She has been accused of writing antisemitic tweets, scrutinized for her past work in Eastern Europe and suspended from Twitter for 12 hours for violating the platform's user guidelines after dogging an Associated Press reporter for his story pointing out that a DeSantis donor was also an investor in a leading COVID-19 treatment the Governor was promoting.
In her letter, Pushaw noted some of the administration's achievements during her tenure, all of which DeSantis is expected to campaign on when he faces his Democratic challenger, either U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist or Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. She noted the administration's efforts to end mandates, focus on education, drive the economy, support families and parental rights, and protect law and order.
"As the Governor said earlier this year, 'Together, we have made Florida the freest state in the United States,'" Pushaw wrote. "The chance to play even a small part in achieving this has truly been the opportunity of a lifetime."
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