We’re still months away from the start of hurricane season, but Gov. Ron DeSantis is already taking Florida by storm. A recent Mason-Dixon poll has the governor at a 62 percent approval rating, making him one of the most popular governors in the nation.
President Donald Trump’s announcement that his administration will designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is garnering strong support from Republicans in the Florida congressional delegation.
Marco Rubio, who sits on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded the announcement.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday defended his selection for state surgeon general amid scrutiny about a past sexual-harassment investigation at the University of Florida.
“My thing is, if we have a public health issue, I want somebody that is going to be able to protect the people of Florida,” DeSantis said during a morning appearance at the Collier County Administrative Building in Naples. “If we have other challenges, like opioids, I want somebody that’s going to be able to do a good job. To me, that should be the focus of this.”
A move to make it harder to change the Florida Constitution was backed along party lines Monday by a House committee, with supporters saying it would lessen the influence of “outside interests.”
But the proposal (HJR 57) to require a higher percentage of votes to approve constitutional amendments advanced without support from Democrats and --- according to bill sponsor Rep. Rick Roth --- lukewarm backing from House leaders.
Leveraging his position as chairman of the Animal Protection Caucus, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., insists he is ready to push several bills over the rest of 2019 and through 2020.
Buchanan, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oreg., who cochairs the caucus, printed a piece in The Hill on Monday highlighting their agenda.
A South Florida congresswoman is looking to crack down on what her office is calling the “alarming rise in e-cigarette use among youth.”
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., paired up with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct., to showcase the “Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction (PROTECT) Act.”
As he built his administration, Gov. Ron DeSantis looked early and often to the Florida House.
First, he picked then-Rep. Jeanette Nunez, a Miami Republican, to be his running mate. And after they were elected in November, he tapped former House Speaker Richard Corcoran to serve as education commissioner, then-Rep. Halsey Beshears to become secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, then-Rep. Danny Burgess to lead the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and then-Rep. Jared Moskowitz to direct the Division of Emergency Management.
Florida’s Constitution is in the crosshairs.
A little more than two years ago, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. In November, nearly two-thirds of Floridians signed off on an amendment to restore the right to vote to certain felons who’ve completed their sentences.
Backers of both proposals maintain that the constitutional changes don’t require action from the Legislature.
In keeping with his pattern of defiance and reliance on recriminations, deposed Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel pledges to appeal a recent judge’s decision.
Following his suspension in early January by newly sworn-in Gov. Ron DeSantis, the sheriff had pledged to fight the decision. Holding his own press conference the same day, Israel declared the governor's decision had no merit, declaring it a political hit job.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited South Florida Friday to announce a $99.7 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to Miami-Dade County to finance much-needed advanced wastewater infrastructure upgrades. The money will finance 14 new injection wells.
