Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that gives him control of Walt Disney World's self-governing district, making good on his threats to punish the company over its opposition to his so-called Don't Say Gay law.

The bill requires DeSantis, a Republican, to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services that the Disney district provides at its sprawling theme park properties in Florida.

"Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end," he said at a bill signing ceremony in Lake Buena Vista. "There's a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day."

The signing came as DeSantis gears up for an expected presidential run and marks a high-profile legislative victory for a governor whose leveraging of cultural and political divides has pushed him to the fore of national Republican politics.

The takeover of the Disney district began last year when the entertainment giant, facing intense pressure, publicly opposed a DeSantis-backed “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade and any lessons deemed not age-appropriate.

Critics said the law was unnecessary because teachers do not discuss those subjects in early grades anyway.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

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