TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Florida's state capital seemed to hold its breath in relative silence, if only for a moment, as Ronald Dion DeSantis placed his hand on a Bible and took the oath as Florida's 46th governor just before noon Tuesday.
Following a dramatic 19-gun salute and Florida National Guard flyover, DeSantis then took to the podium to deliver his speech, which was laced with nautical metaphors, and called for unity but also emphasized the staunch conservative pillars on which he was elected.
"I take the helm of the ship of state as a Florida native, as a veteran of our nation's military, conscious of my own deficiencies, mindful of the great trust that has been placed in me and thankful to so many of you who have prayed for me," DeSantis said in the opening of his speech, addressing the crowd of about 3,000 elected officials, donors, former governors, Supreme Court justices and members of the public.
"Being charged with leading a state with so much promise, all I can promise is the sweat off my brow, a full heart, my best judgment and the courage of my convictions," he said, adding that "my compass will be set on the principles reflected in the constitutional oath I have just taken, and for which Americans have given their lives.
"It now falls to me to build upon the foundation that has been laid, to navigate the challenges _ economic, environmental and constitutional _ that lie ahead, and steer Florida to a stronger, cleaner and safer future."
The ceremony on the steps of the historic Capitol, heavily attended by Florida's lawmakers and insider class, would have seemed like a fever dream to many less than a year ago, when DeSantis was a relatively obscure congressman giving speeches to small crowds in the Panhandle _ and many of those sitting at his inauguration gave him little shot of making it past the Republican primary.
In those early stages, however, his campaign was all about President Donald Trump, and that endorsement carried him through those early victories. So too, was DeSantis' praising of Gov. Rick Scott's economic policies, as DeSantis-the-candidate sought to promote himself through the popularity of other Republicans.
But Tuesday, those other men were in the background, as DeSantis was the one who raised his right hand to assume his role as the top executive for the nation's third-most populous state.
That's not to mention DeSantis has already said he will "definitely" rescind some of the last-minute appointments by Scott, who continued to name people to boards and committees and judicial positions in his final hours as governor in a rare buck of partisan precedent.
The new, 40-year-old governor _ 26 years younger than his predecessor _ has promised reporters an eventful first week in office, as he's expected to use his newfound power to fill the three vacancies on the Supreme Court with conservatives, take early action on environmental issues and re-evaluate the employment of some local elected officials, including Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
Many specifics of DeSantis' agenda have remained murky from the new governor, who's only recently began to grant regular one-on-one interviews with Florida press.
But even in the two-month period since DeSantis' election (which was then confirmed by a machine recount), the new governor has tangibly pivoted from his hard-right campaign rhetoric reminiscent of his early Fox News fame to calls for unity, including hiring two Democrats into his administration.
Even still, the two days of inaugural events were still celebrations of unmistakable victory for the Republican Party in a "purple" state becoming more and more red, with future ambitions to further reduce taxes and regulations, invest more money in school-choice policies and push potentially disruptive reforms in the healthcare sphere.
