DeSantis Responds to Florida Republican Senator Endorsing Trump

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded Friday to Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump during an interview with Fox News.

The GOP senator and previous Florida governor decided not to endorse his successor, and instead threw his support behind Trump on Thursday. DeSantis was asked directly about the endorsement, and reports that Republican state lawmakers in Florida would also soon flock to Trump, and told Fox News’ Sandra Smith that there’s still time to shore up support for his campaign before voting starts.

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‘It’s Time to Cowboy Up’: Rick Scott Announces Largest Ad Buy of Any 2024 GOP Senate Candidate So Far

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced a $3 million ad buy on Thursday, the largest of any 2024 Republican Senate candidate to date.

Scott, who defeated then-Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida in 2018 following a contentious recount battle, previously served two terms as governor of Florida, and he faces a challenge from former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. “The game is now rigged against hardworking Americans who still believe in this country, believe in God and the American values of hard work, patriotism and self-reliance,” Scott says in the ad.

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Rick Scott Opponent Drops Out of Senate Race to Challenge Vulnerable GOP Congressman

A Democratic opponent of Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida in the state’s 2024 election has withdrawn from the race to challenge a Republican member of the House of Representatives, instead.

Phil Ehr, a U.S. Navy veteran and former Democratic candidate against Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida in 2020, announced Wednesday that he would run to challenge Republican Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida. Ehr’s withdrawal makes former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida the favorite in a crowded field to win the primary, according to polling.

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20 Senate Republicans Vow to Block All Non-Budget Legislation

Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott is leading a bloc of 19 other Senate Republicans in an effort to stonewall all legislation unrelated to government funding until Congress approves all of its appropriations bills.

The lawmakers warned Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of their intentions amid an intense congressional battle over spending that saw House conservatives take the unprecedented step of ousting Speaker Kevin McCarthy. At issue are 12 annual spending bills, which Congress must approve by Nov. 17 following the passage of a continuing resolution this weekend to avert a government shutdown.

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Republicans Ripping DeSantis for Feuding with Disney Took Company Executives’ Campaign Cash

Prominent Republicans who have criticized Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ actions against The Walt Disney Company have received significant donations from the media giant’s executives, according to campaign finance records published by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

DeSantis and Disney have been at odds since early 2022, when the Florida legislature passed a law signed by DeSantis stripping Disney of municipal powers within its special district after Disney criticized Florida’s Parental Rights In Education Law. Recently, several top Republicans have come out opposing the governor’s feud with the company, arguing that it’s bad for business, at a time when DeSantis is widely expected to run for president in 2024; however, many of these Republicans raked in campaign contributions from Disney executives.

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Seven Questions for ‘Capitalist and Citizen’ Vivek Ramaswamy as He Jumps Into the Race for President

Vivek Ramaswamy just went from “strongly considering” to a headlong plunge into the race for the White House. 

The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur and crusader against corporate wokeism on Tuesday filed paperwork for a presidential run — the latest Republican to join former President Donald Trump in what’s expected to be a crowded 2024 GOP nomination chase. 

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Republican U.S. Senators File Bill to End China’s Permanent Normal Trade Status

Several Republican senators filed a bill on Friday to end China’s Permanent Normal Trade Status (PNTR), citing concerns over American job losses and human rights abuses overseas.

The China Trade Relations Act, which would strip China of its PNTR, was filed by U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Ted Budd, R-N.C., and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.

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Sen. Rick Scott Praises Elon Musk for Hunter Biden Revealings

Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is giving kudos to new Twitter CEO Elon Musk after Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi released a flurry of “Twitter files” from the company’s archives.

The files documented a pattern of how the social media giant increasingly suppressed free speech over the past few years. This includes nixing the New York Post’s story in October 2020 that exposed Hunter Biden’s business dealings, along with compromising photographs of President Joe Biden’s son.

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Rick Scott Announces Challenge to Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP Leader

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida will challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his role in the upcoming leadership election, per a letter he wrote on Tuesday.

Scott’s office circulated a letter among GOP senators and senators-elect announcing his intention to run in the election, which will be held on Wednesday in the Old Senate Chamber, per Fox News. Though the contents of the letter have not yet been released, McKinley Davis, Scott’s spokesperson, later confirmed the plan to Axios.

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Florida Senator: Republicans Will Take Back U.S. Senate in November

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., says he believes the Republican Party will take back the Senate in November.

Scott told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, “My effort right now is on the hurricane relief for this hurricane, but absolutely I think we’re at 52 seats-plus. If you look at Biden’s numbers, they’re really bad. People have rejected the Biden agenda. We have great candidates. The Democrats have to defend what Biden has done.”]

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NRSC Files FEC Complaint Against Senator Raphael Warnock Following Campaign Finance Allegations

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) filed an official complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Senator Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) alleged misuse of campaign funds.

According to a report, the Georgia lawmaker took campaign money to cover the cost of a lawsuit that pertained to events that occurred before he became an elected official.

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Florida Orange Production Up, Cost of Orange Juice Below Other Food Prices Despite Inflation

There’s a silver lining to some of the hardship Florida citrus producers have faced over the past several years. Their projected crop production is an estimated 2 million box increase from the previous month, the cost for consumers to purchase Florida orange juice is lower than other food despite inflation, and their congressional delegation is advancing a bill to reform FDA standards to help growers.

Florida’s orange production is expected to surpass more than 40 million boxes in the 2021-2022 season, according to a USDA May production forecast, an increase of 2 million boxes from its April forecast.

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Second Amendment Foundation Sues over Washington’s High-Capacity Magazine Ban

The Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and several other officials, challenging the state’s ban on large-capacity magazines for handguns and rifles.

Senate Bill 5078 prohibits the sale of gun magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds, along with the manufacturing, distribution or import of such magazines in Washington.

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Judge Upholds Florida Abortion Waiting-Period Law

Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey upheld a Florida law requiring women to wait 24 hours before proceeding with an abortion. The judge tossed a lawsuit challenging the Florida law after a seven-year battle. The law was signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott (R) in 2015.

Dempsey said that the plaintiffs were not entitled to a stay on the ruling as they could not demonstrate that “irreparable harm” would be caused, as well as other states having legal waiting periods on the books.

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Senator Rick Scott Predicts 2022 Elections Will Change School Boards

Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) commented on the recent shift in attitudes from parents towards school boards with the 2022 elections less than one year away. Scott predicts overwhelming support for changes at the local level across Florida, and the country, as a result of months of pushback from parents to school districts imposing mask mandates and pushing Critical Race Theory (CRT).

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Florida’s Office of Safe Schools Facing Personnel Shortages, Extended Safety Needs

In 2018, the State of Florida launched the Office of Safe Schools within the Department of Education to determine the best practices to ensure Florida’s schools remain safe in the years following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

The office is scheduled to sunset in July 2023, and the chairman of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission in concerned about the office going forward regarding personnel and safe plans not being executed.

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Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Johnson Demands Answers to White House ‘Miscommunication’ on Afghan Vetting

In a letter to the Biden Administration, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) demanded answers to the White House’s “miscommunication” regarding the vetting of Afghanistan refugees. The letter reads, “The Biden Administration’s unwillingness to answer basic questions about Afghan parolees and its vetting procedures, especially when coupled with OMB’s request for Congress to waive terrorist, national security, and all other grounds of inadmissibility, raises significant national security concerns about Operation Allies Welcome.”

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Sen. Blackburn Introduces Resolution Condemning Critical Race Theory in Schools

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Braun (R-IN) in introducing a resolution to condemn the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in K-12 schools. 

“Critical race theory has no place in American schools. The tenets of critical race theory are based in the destructive ideal of inherent racism and will teach our children to judge and self-segregate based solely on skin color,” Blackburn said. “Students should not be discriminated on the basis of race under any circumstances.”

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Florida Transgender Sports Ban Advances Despite Potential Backlash

Women playing lacrosse

Florida Republicans are advancing bills banning transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports despite – perhaps, in spite of – potential corporate criticism and likely sanctions by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

“I certainly couldn’t care less,” House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, said Wednesday after the House approved the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in a 77-40 vote after a four-hour debate in which 18 amendments were rejected.

The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, House Bill 1475, filed by Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, would enact a blanket ban on transgender athletes competing as women in Florida. Transgender athletes could still compete in men’s sports.

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Blackburn Leads Bill to Fight ‘Digital Authoritarianism’ in China, Russia

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill Friday that she says would help prevent authoritarian governments in Russia and China from restricting “Internet freedom.”

“Leading censors like China and Russia are not only employing more sophisticated means to control the lives of their citizens online; they are also exporting their censorship and surveillance tactics to illiberal regimes abroad,” Blackburn said in a press release.

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Two Senators Introduce Bill to Keep Members of Congress From Cashing in as Lobbyists

by Evie Fordham   Two Republican senators introduced legislation to ban members of Congress from lobbying Congress once they exit office, and although the lawmakers are “barking up the right tree,” their solution might not be realistic, a government transparency expert told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Braun of Indiana are the cosponsors of the Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act. “You generally do see more of a reform agenda from some of the newer members that come into the Senate or into the House. We’re hoping some of their policies actually gain traction and can be supported in a bipartisan way,” Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, told TheDCNF in a phone interview. “The public is tired of politics as usual.” Scott and Braun want to put an end to lawmakers stepping into the so-called “revolving door of K Street” — using their connections to become well-heeled lobbyists once they are out of office. Current law mandates ex-House members must wait a year to lobby their former colleagues, while ex-senators must wait two. “I’m proud to introduce this bill that imposes a permanent ban on members of…

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Bipartisan Support for New Federal Gun Controls Is a Red Flag

by Jose Nino   Is more gun control legislation coming to Congress? The 2018 midterm elections produced a split Congress with Democrats gaining control of the House and Republicans gaining seats in the Senate. The change in House leadership will signal changes in gun control legislation in the near future. The Guardian has detailed House Democrats’ desire to pass gun control legislation in the upcoming Congress: “Ted Deutch, a Democratic congressman from Florida who represents Parkland, where a February school shooting left 17 dead, said this week that he expected House Democrats to focus on bills with more bipartisan support. Those measures included bump stock bans and “extreme risk protection orders”, also known as red flag laws, which give law enforcement and family members a way to petition a court to temporarily bar an unstable person from buying or owning guns.” Red flag laws might just be the “come together” moment establishment politicians have been looking for. What Are Red Flag Laws? Red flag laws or Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are the euphemistic label for new gun-control measures. Under red flag laws, law enforcement has the ability to confiscate an individual’s firearms who is deemed a threat to themselves…

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Florida’s Recount Begins Amid Allegations Officials Tampered With Ballots

by Chris White   Florida’s secretary of state announced Saturday afternoon that the races for governor and senator would will be reviewed through a recount as Republicans allege officials tinkered with the results. Republican Gov. Rick Scott leads incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by more than 12,500 votes. Former Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis leads his opponent, Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, by nearly 34,000 votes in the Senate race. The paper-thin margin prompted the recount. Votes will now be recounted by machine after both races fell under the .5 percent margin. Races within .25 percent will then go to a hand recount. Scott’s campaign is calling on the Nelson to accept the official tally. “It’s time for Senator Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of the Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount,” the Florida Republican’s spokesman Chris Hartline said in a press statement following the news. Nelson shows no signs of giving up, telling reporters in a statement: “We have every expectation the recount will be full and fair and will continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process.” Scott initially won the open seat,…

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