Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday sought to draw a contrast with the expiring COVID-19 public health emergency, signing a set of "medical freedom" measures into law, including bans on mask and vaccine mandates, and new conscience protections for health providers.
Democratic lawmakers have blasted the move to prioritize legal protections to the gun industry in the wake of the shooting. Three Senate Republicans voted against the legislation, which came before them in the middle of weeks of public pressure, protests and marches to pass gun control reforms. Only Democrats opposed the bill in the House vote before the shooting.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management said in the statement that the state's relocation program was voluntary, noting that there was verbal and written consent indicating the migrants wanted to go to California.
Florida has faced pushback from officials in both California and Texas, who have said the flights may be breaking the law.
Florida officials have justified arranging the migrant flights in the past. DeSantis, a presidential candidate and fierce critic of President Biden's immigration policy, signed a bill in May allocating $12 million for the transport of migrants.
Mr Newsom called Mr DeSantis a "small, pathetic man" in a tweet on Monday, and then provided a snippet of the state's laws regarding kidnapping.
"Every person who, being out of this state, abducts or takes by force or fraud any person contrary to the law of the place where that act is committed, and brings, sends, or conveys that person within the limits of the state, and is afterwards found within the limits thereof, is guilty of kidnapping," the snippet reads.