Former Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has resigned from Congress, effective immediately, to focus on his gubernatorial bid against progressive star Andrew Gillum (D), mayor of Tallahassee, NBC News first reported Monday.

“As the Republican nominee for governor of Florida, it is clear to me that I will likely miss the vast majority of our remaining session days for this Congress. Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a salary,” DeSantis wrote in a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a Ryan spokesperson told NBC News.

“In order to honor my principles and protect the taxpayer, I officially resign from the House of Representatives, effective immediately,” DeSantis said. “This is not a decision I make lightly. It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida’s 6th Congressional District, and I look forward to serving them and the rest of Florida as our state’s next governor.”

DeSantis, who served on the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has been an outspoken defender of President Donald Trump and his “America First” agenda. Trump backed DeSantis during Florida’s GOP gubernatorial primary.

DeSantis also spoke out against the anti-Trump bias with the Department of Justice and FBI before and during the investigation into allegations of collusion in the 2016 presidential race between Trump campaign aides and volunteers, and Russian interests.

Gillum supports impeaching Trump, abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and offering a taxpayer-funded Medicare for All program for everyone, including illegal immigrants.

Gillum has also panned Trump and DeSantis as “misogynists,” “racists” and “bigots,” claiming both men are “scraping from the bottom of the barrel” during a late August CNN “New Day” interview.

“DeSantis can do the bidding of big business, and big lobbyists, and Donald Trump in his divisive rhetoric. I’m going to be here to do the business of the people of the state of Florida. That’s the job of the governor of this state,” Gillum said.

Trump tweeted on August 29, “Not only did Congressman Ron DeSantis easily win the Republican Primary, but his opponent in November is his biggest dream …. a failed Socialist Mayor named Andrew Gillum who has allowed crime & many other problems to flourish in his city. This is not what Florida wants or needs!”

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The Tallahassee mayor became Florida’s first African-American gubernatorial nominee when he pulled off a stunning upset victory against former Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.). Left-wing icons including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Democratic socialist darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), a congressional candidate in New York, back Gillum’s bid against DeSantis.

Related: Progressive Agenda on Horizon if Florida Voters Choose Gillum

DeSantis and Gillum — both 39 — will face off on November 6. Florida’s current governor, Rick Scott (R), is the GOP nominee to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate. Scott and incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D) also will face off in November.

(photo credit, homepage and article images: Ron DeSantis, CC BY-SA 2.0, Cropped/Colored Background, by Gage Skidmore)