DeSantis prefiled the oath of office with the Florida Secretary of State and became governor at midnight, January 8, 2019.
The official swearing in ceremony was held at noon that day.
On January 11, 2019, DeSantis posthumously pardoned the Groveland Four, four black men falsely convicted of rape in 1949.
That same day, DeSantis officially suspended Broward County sheriff Scott Israel for his response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
DeSantis appointed Gregory Tony as sheriff of Broward County.
On May 2, 2020, Sheriff Tony admitted to withholding a murder arrest from DeSantis during the vetting process.

In his first two weeks in office, DeSantis appointed Barbara Lagoa, Robert J. Luck and Carlos G. Muñiz to fill the three vacancies on the Florida Supreme Court, shifting the court from having a liberal to a conservative majority.
He replaced the entire South Florida Water Management District board.
He signed $2.5 billion executive order for water quality and Everglades restoration work.
He created a chief science officer position and created an office of coastal protection and resilience.
In January 2019, DeSantis signed an executive order calling for the end of Common Core in Florida.

DeSantis encouraged Florida sheriffs to cooperate with the federal government on immigration-related issues.
In June 2019, DeSantis signed an anti-sanctuary city bill that requires law enforcement "to honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers for undocumented immigrants who are arrested or convicted" of crimes.
Florida became the 12th state to ban sanctuary cities.

In June 2019, DeSantis signed a measure that would make it harder to launch successful ballot initiatives.
Petition-gathering for ballot initiatives to legalize medical marijuana, increases to the minimum wage, and expansion of Medicaid were also under way.

In June 2019, following on the heels of a 2018 constitutional amendment referendum in favor of voting rights restoration for felons, DeSantis signed legislation that restricted such restoration only to those felons who had fully paid back all fees and fines to the courts, a move that was criticized as reminiscent of poll taxes in the Jim Crow South and prompted a lawsuit.

On August 28, 2019, DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 26 counties in Hurricane Dorian's expected path.
This later expanded to the entire state on August 29.

In March 2020 DeSantis decided against declaring a state of emergency in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following conflict between North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and President Trump concerning the 2020 Republican National Convention originally intended to be held in Charlotte, but consequently jeopardized following Cooper's rejection of large scale festivities to be held due to COVID-19 concerns, DeSantis campaigned to have Florida be made the new host state.
DeSantis was in competition with Tennessee and Georgia, however he ultimately won out and the main festivities of the RNC, including the keynote speech of Trump's, were rescheduled to be held in Jacksonville.

On June 30, 2020, DeSantis signed a bill requiring government employers and private companies that contract with the government to use E-Verify.
DeSantis had originally called for all employers to be required to use it.
DeSantis prefiled the oath of office with the Florida Secretary of State and became governor at midnight, January 8, 2019. The official swearing in ceremony was held at noon that day. On January 11, 2019, DeSantis posthumously pardoned the Groveland Four, four black men falsely convicted of rape in 1949. That same day, DeSantis officially suspended Broward County sheriff Scott Israel for his response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. DeSantis appointed Gregory Tony as sheriff of Broward County. On May 2, 2020, Sheriff Tony admitted to withholding a murder arrest from DeSantis during the vetting process.
In his first two weeks in office, DeSantis appointed Barbara Lagoa, Robert J. Luck and Carlos G. Muñiz to fill the three vacancies on the Florida Supreme Court, shifting the court from having a liberal to a conservative majority. He replaced the entire South Florida Water Management District board. He signed $2.5 billion executive order for water quality and Everglades restoration work. He created a chief science officer position and created an office of coastal protection and resilience. In January 2019, DeSantis signed an executive order calling for the end of Common Core in Florida.
DeSantis encouraged Florida sheriffs to cooperate with the federal government on immigration-related issues. In June 2019, DeSantis signed an anti-sanctuary city bill that requires law enforcement "to honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers for undocumented immigrants who are arrested or convicted" of crimes. Florida became the 12th state to ban sanctuary cities.
In June 2019, DeSantis signed a measure that would make it harder to launch successful ballot initiatives. Petition-gathering for ballot initiatives to legalize medical marijuana, increases to the minimum wage, and expansion of Medicaid were also under way.
In June 2019, following on the heels of a 2018 constitutional amendment referendum in favor of voting rights restoration for felons, DeSantis signed legislation that restricted such restoration only to those felons who had fully paid back all fees and fines to the courts, a move that was criticized as reminiscent of poll taxes in the Jim Crow South and prompted a lawsuit.
On August 28, 2019, DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 26 counties in Hurricane Dorian's expected path. This later expanded to the entire state on August 29.
In March 2020 DeSantis decided against declaring a state of emergency in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following conflict between North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and President Trump concerning the 2020 Republican National Convention originally intended to be held in Charlotte, but consequently jeopardized following Cooper's rejection of large scale festivities to be held due to COVID-19 concerns, DeSantis campaigned to have Florida be made the new host state. DeSantis was in competition with Tennessee and Georgia, however he ultimately won out and the main festivities of the RNC, including the keynote speech of Trump's, were rescheduled to be held in Jacksonville.
On June 30, 2020, DeSantis signed a bill requiring government employers and private companies that contract with the government to use E-Verify. DeSantis had originally called for all employers to be required to use it.
Ron DeSantis