A complaint has been filed against Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-23) by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT). The complaint is calling on the Office of Congressional Ethics to launch an investigation into Wasserman Schultz “for violating federal law and House ethics rules.”
The complaint alleges Wasserman Schultz failed to disclose financial transactions on time, along with a dependent child’s financial transactions.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week he could see himself supporting Texas-style abortion legislation. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a “heartbeat bill” banning abortions as early as six weeks, which is considered the time when a fetus develops a heartbeat and can be heard through an ultrasound.
The Texas bill, SB 8, officially came into effect on September 1 after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) denied an appeal from abortion providers.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced his administration has appealed a legal ruling striking down his July executive order banning mask mandates. DeSantis initially signed the order to prevent school districts from imposing district-wide mask mandates on students.
DeSantis has previously cited the recently signed “Parental Bill of Rights” legislation ensuring parents have the right to make healthcare decisions for their children, including wearing or not wearing masks.
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Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) took jabs at Congressman Charlie Crist (D-13) over his previous political affiliations and supporting pro-life policies when he was a Republican. Fried and Crist are both running to unseat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2022 gubernatorial election.
On Twitter, Fried posted a YouTube clip with the added caption that she is the only candidate who has been “pro-choice” her entire life, referencing an old clip where Crist said “I am pro-life, I am pro-gun, and I am pro-family, and I am anti-tax and I always have been.”
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The Florida Hospital Association President Mary Mayhew said she has been encouraged with the latest trends regarding COVID in Florida.
Mayhew appeared on MSNBC last week and said she is hopeful given the drop in hospitalization numbers.
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Florida’s Attorney General, Ashley Moody (R), has entered into the fight against rogue school districts defying state law. She voiced her opinion after a court decision earlier this week saying Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mask mandate ban was unconstitutional and unenforceable.
DeSantis said they will be quickly filing an appeal to the decision in another attempt to “defend the law and parents’ rights in Florida.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been attracting national attention for his handling of the COVID pandemic and after taking different campaign trips across the country he has attracted some of the GOP’s biggest donors.
According to Friends of Ron DeSantis’ campaign documents, Kenneth Griffin, founder of Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, as donated $5 million. David MacNeil, founder of WeatherTech, donated $500,000 in May, and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus gave $250,000.
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Stephen Alford, a Florida developer and fraud convict, was arrested and charged for attempting to extort $25 million from former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, father of embattled Congressman Matt Gaetz, according to POLITICO.
After Don Gaetz wore a wire for the FBI, it was found out that Alford would have ensured one of Gaetz’ family members received a presidential pardon, and no one would go to prison. The family member was identified as Don Gaetz’s son, Congressman Matt Gaetz.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has selected the next secretary for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). DeSantis picked Shawn Hamilton who oversaw the state park system as deputy secretary. Hamilton was previously a superintendent in the Alabama Air National Guard and also served in the Iraq War who has also worked in environmental conservation.
Hamilton would be the first black man to lead the FDEP and DeSantis said he we would bring “a strong, proven record of environmental stewardship and management of award-winning state parks and conservation lands.”
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Florida Agriculture Commissioner and 2022 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Nikki Fried, has filed her financial disclosure forms, showing updates to her 2019 financial forms and new changes.
Fried was hours away from racking up fines for potentially not filing by the September 1 deadline, which was the end of the extended grace period. Form 6, which Fried completed, was originally due on July 1.
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The U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) announced they are investigating state laws across the country pertaining to mask mandate bans. The states subject to investigation are Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. Notably, Florida was not included in the list regarding the initial investigation.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order banning mask mandates on July 30 kicking off a month of threats, legal action, and defiant school boards.
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Judge Layne Smith, a Circuit Judge in Leon County, sided with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration over the decision to cut off federal unemployment dollars for Floridians in June.
Smith ruled DeSantis was within his rights as governor as the state has attempted to get Floridians back to work during a national labor shortage.
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Florida Crystals’ Okeelanta Corp., U.S. Sugar, and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative filed separate lawsuits and are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over proposed reservoir water levels. The sugar companies say the proposed levels will be too low to supply enough water to their fields.
The Corps are attempting to keep the water low as part of an Everglades restoration project, but the growers would want to see the levels returned to a standard adopted in 2000.
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Floridians hospitalized for COVID has decreased for a fourth day in a row, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data.
The data shows Florida’s hospitals are taking care of 15,778 COVID patients which accounts for only 27.5 percent of all Floridians hospitalized. Similarly, Florida’s ICU’s are helping 3,477 COVID patients, which was over 200 less COVID patients than Thursday, last week.
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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) criticized President Joe Biden for the alleged list the United States gave to Taliban leaders containing names of Americans and allied personnel still on the ground in Afghanistan seeking to evacuate.
Rubio’s comments were contained in a letter sent to the White House.
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Last week the Miami Herald published a story with a headline which garnered national attention, mainly from critics of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The headline read “Florida COVID update: 901 added deaths, largest single-day increase in pandemic history.”
The story was picked up by many predominantly left-leaning pundits and news sites to blast DeSantis for their claims of his poor effort in handling of the COVID pandemic.
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Florida State Rep. Jay Trumbull (R-6), House Appropriations Chair, is calling on the Florida Ports industry to lobby for more infrastructure cash while still waiting on federal COVID stimulus money.
Trumbull said he wishes he wishes “we could have done more” for the ports industry, but he is concerned Florida’s ports could lose out on commerce and industry to nearby Alabama and Georgia.
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In Jacksonville and Ocala, Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatment sites are seeing hundreds of people receive the therapy, and it is proving successful in its early treatment phase.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been pushing for the use of the treatment for COVID patients early in their infection. The design is to receive the monoclonal treatment before serious symptoms kick in.
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Leon County Circuit Judge, John C. Cooper, has ruled Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis executive order banning mask mandates is unlawful and cannot be enforced, saying it does not “pass constitutional muster.”
Cooper sided with the parents challenging the legality of DeSantis’ order, and cited two previous Florida Supreme Court cases which indicated rights can be limited in the event others’ rights could be impacted. He specifically noted the prohibition of yelling “fire” in a crowded theater.
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Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees is leaving his post at the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Rivkees has been with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration since 2019 and led the FDOH since the COVID pandemic began in Florida in March 2020.
“We thank Dr. Rivkees for his meaningful work during the most challenging pandemic of our lifetime. We appreciate his service to the people of Florida and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” said DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw to Florida Politics.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced they won back $5 million in a settlement from a lawsuit the state filed against the nonprofit group, the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV). The figure at the center of the suit was Tiffany Carr, who worked at the coalition for decades, was accused of defrauding the State of Florida and the federal government by convincing the board of directors to pay her millions of dollars, as her salary, over years.
“For several years, FCADV and Tiffany Carr concocted to pay herself an excessive compensation scheme, millions of dollars meant to benefit domestic violence victims. When uncovered, this scheme threatened to disrupt funding to domestic violence centers,” said Attorney General Ashley Moody. “I am pleased that through these actions, we succeeded in getting rid of the bad management, dismantling the organization, implementing a new system to serve victims of domestic violence and recouping millions of misappropriated funds.
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The American Medical Association (AMA) is calling for public and private vaccine mandates.
“With the highly transmissible and more virulent Delta variant wreaking havoc and emergency departments once again overwhelmed, physicians and all frontline health care workers need help,” the AMA said. “The way to regain the upper hand in this fight is requiring vaccinations—specifically vaccine mandates.”
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A Leon County Circuit Judge is hearing arguments from parents seeking an end to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mask mandate ban. Specifically, the parents are seeking to challenge DeSantis’ executive order from July 30, which numerous school districts have been defying.
Charles Dodson, a former judge and is representing the parents, said schools are not safe until everyone is masked.
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Congressman Byron Donalds (R-19) has called on President Joe Biden to resign in the wake of the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.
“It has become clear that President Biden has lost complete and total confidence of the American people through his haphazard decision to withdraw from Afghanistan,” Donalds said in an exclusive statement to the Daily Caller.
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced they have opened an investigation into the 2020 election related to Florida Senate District 9, which saw then-candidate Jason Brodeur (R) defeat Patricia Sigman (D) by approximately 2 percentage points.
The Orlando Sentinel reported the specific allegations have not been publicly disclosed, but noted the Seminole and Volusia County election, and the political scene at-large, has been mired in scrutiny and controversy for months.
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After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary was suspended from Twitter and the Associated Press (AP) sent a letter criticizing DeSantis, DeSantis responded with his own letter to the AP saying they deserved a little pushback against the AP’s “smear” tactic.
“I assumed your letter was to notify me that you were issuing a retraction of the partisan smear piece you published last week,” DeSantis wrote. “Instead, you had the temerity to complain about the deserved blowback that your botched and discredited attempt to concoct a political narrative has received. The ploy will not work to divert attention from the fact that the Associated Press published a false narrative that will lead some to decline effective treatment for COVID infections.”
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The Leon County School District is the latest public school district to announce they are imposing K-8 mask mandate without a parent permission opt-out form. The district operated the first couple weeks of school without the opt-out form, but Superintendent Rocky Hanna made the announcement Sunday night.
“I do have an obligation to uphold the laws of the state of Florida,” said Hanna. “But, I have a greater obligation however to protect, the health, safety and welfare of the children of Tallahassee and Leon County.”
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Despite Florida’s recall laws not pertaining to statewide elected officials, Newsweek magazine published a story highlighting the growth of a Florida statewide petition calling for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recall.
Newsweek placed the detail related to the prohibition of recalling statewide elected officials at the bottom of the article.
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Last week, the Associated Press (AP) published a story regarding Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his push for monoclonal antibody treatment, which is sold by Regeneron. In the wake of the article, DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, found her Twitter account suspended for allegedly “harassing” the reporter who broke the AP story.
In the original article, Brendan Farrington, who wrote the piece, noted Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, owns over $15 million of Regeneron. The CEO of Citadel, Ken Griffin, is a multi-million-dollar donor to the DeSantis campaign.
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Florida’s Senate Republicans have selected Sen. Ben Albritton (R-26) to be the Senate President for the 2024-2026 term. Currently, Sen. Wilton Simpson (R-10), will serve as Senate President until Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R-28) takes over for the 2023-2024 legislative sessions.
“It’s a real honor and privilege for me to have earned the support of my colleagues in the Senate,” Albritton said to Florida Politics. “Senator Manny Diaz is a valued colleague and a friend, who puts people above politics. We share a vision for the future of Florida, and we’ll work together in the years ahead to advance policies that are in the best interest of the state of Florida.”
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Florida is facing a teacher shortage amid students and staff returning to classrooms in the last few weeks.
The Florida Education Association (FEA), the state’s largest teachers’ union, surveyed districts across Florida and found there was a 67 percent increase in vacancies compared to this time last year.
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A Leon County Circuit Judge has refused to dismiss a case regarding a legal challenge to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mask mandate ban. DeSantis signed the executive order earlier this month, and despite threats of funding and salary withholding from the Florida Board of Education (BOE), multiple school districts have defied the order and implemented mandatory mask requirements.
With the move, lawsuits would be able to proceed by attorneys representing parents of students suing DeSantis, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education, and the BOE.
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The Miami-Dade Public School Board voted to impose a district-wide school mask mandate only providing a medical opt-out form. The board’s final vote was 7-1, after Superintendent Alberto Carvalho already expressed his support for a mask mandate.
Miami-Dade joins two other districts, Alachua and Broward, who are imposing a mask mandate illegally. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order banning mask mandates in Florida’s school, and the Florida Board of Education (BOE) districts defying the order are outside of state law. Rogue districts are also at-risk of losing funding from the state over the mask mandate, according to the BOE.
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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) leads Rep. Val Demings (D-10) by two points in a hypothetical head-to-head general election poll for the 2022 Senate election.
According to poll from St. Pete Polls, Rubio leads 48 percent to 46 percent, however the results are still within the 2.2 percent margin of error. The poll consisted of just over 2,000 registered Florida voters.
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As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening to withhold funding from Alachua and Broward County school districts for imposing a district wide school mask mandate, other school districts are considering defying the state as well.
DeSantis previously signed an executive order banning mask mandates in Florida’s school, much to the ire of Alachua and Broward, but now Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties are planning on addressing masking issues in upcoming school board meetings.
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The Florida Board of Education (BOE) is ramping up pressure toward Florida’s two defiant school districts, Alachua and Broward, over their insistence on imposing a district-wide school mask mandate despite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mask mandate ban.
The BOE met on Tuesday night where they voted to direct Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to investigate the school districts and their elected officials, saying the school districts broke the law. Board member Tom Grady said the investigation could “involve withholding salaries, it may involve removing officers, it may involve reviewing district conduct.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday the launch of three new proposals being put forth to the Florida Legislature to recruit new and out-of-state law enforcement officers. DeSantis said it is an effort for Florida to acquire valued men and women of our nation’s law enforcement community amid controversy surround police, particularly the “Abolish the Police” movement.
“As so many cities and states choose to disrespect, degrade and defund the honorable work of law enforcement, we want Florida to continue valuing our men and women of law enforcement today, tomorrow and for generations to come,” said DeSantis. “That’s why today, I am proud to announce new initiatives to recruit and reward brave, high quality law enforcement officers in Florida that I will be including in my legislative priorities for our upcoming legislative session, including $5,000 signing bonuses.”
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Florida’s senators went on the offensive in the wake of the Taliban reconquering Afghanistan, heavily criticizing the President Joe Biden administration over the way the withdrawal of American and allied forces were withdrawn from the war-torn country.
Florida’s junior senator, Rick Scott, even floated the idea of invoking the 25th Amendment which deals with presidential succession related to the capability of the current president, and possibly removing Biden from office.
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President Joe Biden has commended the Florida school districts who are defying Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order banning mask mandates in Florida’s schools.
Biden called Broward Superintendent Vickie Cartwright earlier this month and praised her “leadership and courage to do the right thing for the health and well-being of their students, teachers, and schools,” by imposing a district-wide mask mandate.
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With the increase in cases and hospitalizations, many are calling on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to re-enact Florida’s COVID state of emergency.
DeSantis initially issued the state of emergency declaration on March 9, 2020 and extended it for over one year. DeSantis opted to not renew it in June, making June 26, 2021, the end of the declaration. The 476-day state of emergency was the longest in Florida’s history.
During the trial of Tallahassee businessman J.T. Burnette, who has been found guilty of five public corruption charges, a secret audio file was played for jurors where Burnette bragged about how a political relationship led to his then-girlfriend, Kim Rivers, acquired a vertically integrated license to operate Trulieve in Florida.
Trulieve was one of the first medical cannabis dispensaries in Florida growing to now 85 stores, and a total of 90 stores nationally. On their website, they claim to have 48 percent of Florida’s “seed-to-sale” operation.
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The U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) has expressed their concern over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ insistence on Florida’s public schools being mask optional for this school year. DeSantis issued an executive order banning mask mandates in Florida’s schools ensuring the parents have “freedom to choose.”
However, the U.S. DOE sent a letter to DeSantis and Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Friday.
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Former Congressman Alan Grayson (D) has entered the 2022 Senate race to unseat current Sen. Marco Rubio (R).
Grayson gave up his congressional seat in 2016 to run against Rubio, but lost. Grayson’s 2016 campaign imploded after allegations of domestic violence became public and endorsements of Grayson were soon withdrawn.
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Scientists at the University of Florida developed a model which says Florida’s delta variant of COVID has not yet peaked, but the future of the pandemic could be similar to flu seasons where booster shots might be normal.
Ira Longini, Ph.D. and Thomas Hladish’s model says the high transmissibility of the delta variant is the cause of the increase in cases, but they are not able to forecast the pandemic past December 2021.
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The United Faculty of Florida is imploring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to impose a mask mandate on all of Florida’s colleges and universities.
Their basis for the request is rooted in the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in July which said everyone should wear masks indoors. They called on the governor through a letter which said Florida’s colleges and universities should “follow CDC recommendations, including universal masking indoors and other common-sense measures, to limit severe illness and keep our colleges and universities open for learning.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has backed down from withholding salaries from school board members and superintendents who defy DeSantis’ statewide mask mandate ban. Alachua and Broward school districts are the two remaining holdout districts who are continuing to defy DeSantis’ order and mandate masks only providing for a doctor’s note exemption for students.
Earlier this week, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran penned a letter to the districts saying they had by 5:00 p.m. Friday to comply with the ban or face salary suspensions.
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With Florida’s gubernatorial race only a few months in, the political rhetoric is increasing and pressure is mounting on Republican and Democratic sides of the aisle. For the Democrats, they will be attempting to unseat current Gov. Ron DeSantis and current Sen. Marco Rubio.
For Republicans, the pressure is mounting to increase their already dominant presence in Florida’s statewide offices and state legislature. However, this upcoming legislative session will also see the Republican-controlled State House and Senate redrawing Florida’s congressional seats.
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The Florida Board of Education is scheduling an emergency meeting on August 17 to discuss Alachua and Broward school districts regarding their mask mandates which go against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order banning mask mandates.
Earlier in the week, withholding salaries was a possible ramification, but after DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education slightly backtracked on the issue, their focus is now just funding cuts for the defiant districts. But, where the funding cuts come from is up to the school district.
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The federal Department of Health and Human Services sent 200 ventilators and 100 high-flow nasal oxygen kits to Florida after a request from the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) allegedly due to a shortage.
However, when asked earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he did not know about any request to Washington.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pulled in over $4 million during July, expanding on his already large war chest.
The July financial report shows over 18,000 contributions during July, which is over 63 percent of total contributions Friends of Ron DeSantis has collected since January 2018.
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