U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called for President Barack Obama to appoint a new U.S. attorney general who will uphold the Constitution and follow the rule of law. Rubio offered his take in an op-ed on Thursday in the Washington Times in which he jabbed Obama and outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on a number of issues, arguing the Justice Department has grown overly political in recent years and was selective in deciding which laws to enforce....
Rubio also took to the pages of the Daily Caller this week to pen a piece praising the University of Tennessee for still holding prayers before each home football game. With Rubios University of Florida Gators headed up to Knoxville on Saturday, the senator also took a few shots at the Vols, noting that UF has won its last nine games in a row. ... From his perch on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., continues to warn about beef imported from Brazil where there have been reports in recent months of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) impacting cattle. Yoho, who spent decades as a large-animal veterinarian in North Florida after earning his doctorate at UF, penned an op-ed which appeared in this weeks edition of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Beltway Beef newsletter warning about the dangers of cattle infected with FMD. ...
U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., rang the alarm bell this week in an op-ed at the Tampa Tribune on foreign students. Bilirakis noted that almost 58,000 students overstayed their visas in the past year with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security failing to account for more than 6,000 of them. Warning these unaccounted students could be terrorists, Bilirakis offered a reminder that some of the terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks entered the nation through student visas. ...U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., who sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, ripped Obama after the White House protested Israeli plans to build 2,500 additional houses in Jerusalem. The U.S. government should stop meddling in internal Israeli affairs, DeSantis said. Israel is more committed to peace than anyone in the region. U.S. policy should not view Israel as the problem but should instead recognize that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of the Jewish state." DeSantis criticized the White House for focusing on that issue while ignoring others, including a resurgent Russia, potential Ebola outbreaks at home and continued Islamic terrorism. ...U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., has garnered some prominence in Congress on foreign affairs during his time there and he was honored by Hungary this week for his commitment to that European nation. Zsolt Neth, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Hungarian Parliament, presented Diaz-Balart with the Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary, the highest award that nation has for non-Hungarians. ...
In one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation, freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., got the help of the Obama administration this week. On Thursday, U.S. Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack hit Miami-Dade County to hold an event with Garcia focused on agricultural issues. ... Trying to boost Republican hopeful Miami-Dade School Board member Carlos Curbelo, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) pointed to comments Garcia made in the past about farmers votes. Joe Garcia will surely be pandering to farmers today, but just a few years ago he said their vote shouldnt matter, said Katie Prill, a spokeswoman for the NRCC. We already know Garcia thinks he should be able to manipulate the vote with his absentee voter fraud plot, but now we know Garcia thinks some portions of the 26th District just shouldnt count when it comes to elections. ... Conservative Group American Action Network (AAN) continues to remain involved in the race between Garcia and Curbelo. This week, AAN portrayed Garcia as a clone of Obama and a creature of the Beltway Democrats. AAN pointed to Garcia sticking with the Democrats 87 percent of the time in his House votes. ...
When the Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC) meets on Saturday, Oct. 11, for its annual dinner in Orlando, the conservative group will honor former Florida Sen. Ronda Storms with its William Wilberforce Award.FFPC President John Stemberger praised Storms for her pro-life record in Tallahassee. Conservative leader Gary Bauer, best known for leading the Family Research Council (FRC) and for his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, will be the keynote speaker at the FFPC event. ... On Friday, it was announced that Michael Williams, currently the deputy communications director in the House Majority office, will be moving up to be communications director for the Florida House. Williams will be at his post during outgoing House Speaker Will Weatherfords, R-Wesley Chapel, final days with the gavel and will remain there as incoming House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merrit Island, takes over. ...Former Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Hazouri is trying for one more political comeback. This week, Hazouri, a Democrat, filed to run for an at-large City Council seat. Since losing to Ed Austin in the 1991 mayoral race, Hazouri has served on the Duval County School Board and ran for mayor in 1995 and 2003, coming up short both times.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
