| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | Presented by |  | | | |  Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump smiles during the Florida Freedom Summit at the Gaylord Palms Resort on November 04, 2023 in Kissimmee, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | Good morning and happy Friday. Former President Donald Trump is seizing the role of Florida kingmaker. After locking up the 2024 nomination in part thanks to endorsements from Florida Republicans, Trump is returning the favor. In the last couple of weeks he endorsed GOP U.S. Reps. “very effective lawmaker” Gus Bilirakis and “fantastic” Bill Posey for reelection. Both have at least nominal Republican challengers. Earlier this month Trump also endorsed state Rep. Randy Fine, the only Jewish Republican in the Florida Legislature, who vocally flipped his endorsement from Gov. Ron DeSantis to Trump and criticized the governor’s record fighting antisemitism. State Sen. Debbie Mayfield, who is term limited and also flipped her endorsement from Trump to DeSantis, was considering running for Posey’s seat if he’d retired, POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reported at the time, but three members of the Legislature told Playbook she was now interested in running for state House. Trump also made an endorsement for well into the future, revealing that “Rockstar” state Sen. Joe Gruters was interested in running for Florida chief financial officer — a spot that won’t be available until 2026, when current CFO Jimmy Patronis is term limited. (Patronis, by the way, is eyeing the ‘26 gubernatorial race, and Trump praised him recently as doing a “terrific job.”) “Gruters was on the ‘Trump Train’ before it even left the station,” Trump wrote. But Trump’s posts weren’t all warm and fuzzy. One encouraged a challenger to run against GOP U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee, who was the only member of the Florida congressional delegation to endorse DeSantis. The campaign for Lee, who was DeSantis’ top election official and who switched her endorsement to Trump after DeSantis dropped out, declined to comment. The latest posts came among endorsements in other states, ramblings about MSNBC, the criminal cases against him and polls showing him leading in swing states, but they certainly got the attention of Florida political watchers. “I think it's him putting his stamp on Florida and rewarding loyalty,” said a Florida-based Republican close to the ex-president, who requested anonymity to have a candid discussion. Bilirakis told Playbook in a statement that he was “honored” to get Trump’s endorsement and noted that he “enthusiastically” supported the former president ever since his 2016 run. Gruters told Playbook he’d asked Trump for his endorsement and was “very grateful for the strong support and encouragement.” A Trump social media endorsement helped rocket DeSantis’ political career back in 2018. But the two men spent much of the presidential primary fighting for dominance, especially in Florida — where DeSantis won in 2022 by 19 points without seeking Trump’s endorsement and bringing other Republicans to victory with him. Trump’s latest posts show the power struggle is likely to continue, though his endorsements may have limited effect if he loses in November. DeSantis hasn’t talked about shaping Florida’s future after the more than 2.5 years he has left in office, but has expressed interest in campaigning alongside local and state candidates here in 2024. Brian Hughes, a longtime Florida operative and a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, said Trump endorsements were “sought after” because “Florida is Trump Country” and voters supported his policies. “The men and women who receive the endorsement of President Trump are America First officials who represent the MAGA movement to make our nation and communities across Florida safe and more prosperous for working families,” he said. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association: KEEP CHINA AWAY FROM OUR CREDIT CARDS Corporate mega-stores are claiming that the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill would freeze out China UnionPay. In reality, this bill would benefit credit card networks that have long been affiliated with the Chinese state-owned network, and interchange mandates in general would weaken security. By helping networks that partner with China UnionPay route more transactions in the U.S., Durbin-Marshall would EXPAND the influence of the CCP. Learn more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2780356 | | | |  People gather outside the Florida Supreme Court, Feb. 7, 2024, in Tallahassee, Florida. | Brendan Farrington/AP | NO JOKE — The state Supreme Court didn't issue orders yesterday, as expected, on whether cannabis legalization and abortion rights will be on the ballot in Florida in November. The court later in the afternoon released a post on X saying a decision would come at 4 p.m. Monday, April 1. EMAIL RECORDS SHOW — “DeSantis’ office quietly backed Florida ban on wind energy,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Emily L. Mahoney. “While debate over the bill continued in the halls of the Legislature, DeSantis’ office weighed in via email. Cody Farrill, a deputy chief of staff in the governor’s office, sent wording related to the wind ban multiple times to [Sen. Jay Collins (R-Tampa)] and his staff in late January and early February. Some of the emails include Rep. Thad Altman, R-Indialantic, who, along with Collins in the Senate, sponsored a standalone ban on wind energy. That bill received no hearings, which by February meant it was in danger of dying.” KICKED OFF — “Some of Florida’s sickest kids are losing Medicaid coverage on Easter Sunday,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Caroline Catherman. “This month, the state began removing children … with complex chronic conditions. Eligibility reviews for that group were delayed until now, though there have been one-off instances over the past year where kids were mistakenly removed despite falling into that category. As a result, local nonprofits have seen a ‘huge uptick’ over the past two weeks in calls from panicked parents of Florida kids with cancer, developmental disorders and other serious conditions, said Miriam Harmatz, founder of the nonprofit Florida Health Justice Project. Most of these children are set to lose coverage Sunday.” BLACKLISTED — “Morningstar drops service at libraries after landing on Florida’s anti-Israel list,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Jeffrey Schweers. “Library officials confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that Morningstar told them it made the decision to cancel the district’s $10,400-a-year subscription when it was up for renewal in January because of the decision to place it on the ‘scrutinized companies’ list.” CARE FOR UNDOCUMENTED — “Pulling ‘a fast one?’ State criticized over new migrant health care dashboard,” reports Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton. “Florida’s health care regulatory agency — now charged with tracking how much uncompensated health care is provided to migrants in Florida — recently rolled out a new dashboard meant to give the public the answer to that question. However, the Agency for Health Care Administration’s new dashboard does not include some of the caveats to that information that was provided in a mandatory report on the same subject that was given to legislators weeks earlier, including a finding that the agency was ‘not able to find any obvious correlation’ between the amount of uncompensated care provided by hospitals and the level ‘of illegal aliens’ who were treated at the facilities.” FORECAST — “More storms expected as La Niña and warm waters combine,” reports the Palm Beach Post’s Kimberly Miller. “Two months ahead of the June 1 start date of hurricane season, a leading forecast is predicting a ‘potentially explosive’ season as abnormally warm sea-surface temperatures and La Niña gain dominion over the Atlantic basin. AccuWeather … is predicting 20 to 24 named storms, with eight to 12 of those storms becoming hurricanes. Four to seven of those hurricanes are forecast to reach major hurricane strength of Category 3 or higher.” CHEERS — “Floridians will soon be able to buy larger — much larger — bottles of wine in retail stores,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “DeSantis said he initially wasn’t sure that people would buy the newly allowed sizes, but wine industry representatives said they’re popular for some weddings and special celebrations. The measure received overwhelming approval earlier this year in the Florida House of Representatives and state Senate, with only one ‘no’ vote. But the final result made it look deceptively simple. It’s the fifth legislative session [state Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point] has pursued the measure, which both he and DeSantis have said was more controversial than people would realize. Online sales were already allowed, and DeSantis said some interests didn’t want the law changed.” — “More leprosy cases are popping up in Florida. Why an ancient disease might be endemic,” reports the Miami Herald’s Michelle Marchante and Howard Cohen.
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Researchers caught and tagged a 13-foot female sawfish off the coast of Cedar Key, Fla. | Derrick Biglin/Florida Museum of Natural History | NATURE’S MYSTERY — “Florida Keys fish kill: 28 endangered sawfish dead. Scientists perplexed by the cause,” reports David Goodhue of Florida Keys News. “To date, scientists have not figured out what is causing the fish to die, nor their odd behavior when they become ill … The only good news is that red tide toxins have not been detected so far in any of the water samples taken by scientists in the impacted area … And necropsy data taken from dead fish samples so far has not turned up any communicable pathogens and the fish were negative for bacterial infections.” MISDEMEANOR — “Pair charged with defacing security bollards outside old Capitol with 'Save Gaza' message,” reports USA Today Network — Florida. “A 23-year-old of Dothan, Alabama, and a 20-year-old of Tallahassee were each charged with one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief.” AFTER THE RAID — “Miami ‘freak-offs’ and underage sex — lawsuits paint picture of Diddy’s world,” reports Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald. “What is alleged to have happened in these lavish hotel rooms … were sex parties so brutal that the young women and men lured into attending them would often vomit and pass out from being drugged, beaten and raped, sometimes for hours on end.” PUSHBACK — “Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill fires back at elder-abuse injunction,” reports Ryan Gillespie of the Orlando Sentinel. “Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill claims in new court filings that those seeking to dislodge Hill’s power over an elderly constituent are the ones at risk of exploiting the woman, not Hill herself. Hill is asking to have the court injunction levied against her last week dissolved, arguing that the 96-year-old woman’s vulnerable state leaves her in no position to change who has her power of attorney. ”
| | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
TOUCHING DOWN IN FLORIDA — Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband and a top Biden campaign surrogate, joined the Miami-Dade launch of the Hispanic Democratic caucus on Wednesday night at their new offices in Coral Gables. The launch, in a county that is 70 percent Hispanic, was part of the Latinos con Biden-Harris 2024 initiative that Harris kicked off in other states last week.
The event comes shortly after Florida Democrats ousted the county party chair and as the Biden campaign is considering ways to get involved in a state that has tilted red. About 25 volunteers attended as Emhoff helped with phone banking. They also helped voters re-enroll to qualify for vote-by-mail. “It was a much-needed event to reenergize Democrats in Miami-Dade,” Eden Giagnorio, spokeswoman for Florida Democrats, told Playbook. “It was a momentum shift, a really positive development.” SPOTTED: Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade Democratic Hispanic Caucus President Juan Cuba, Pembroke Pines Commissioner-elect Maria Rodriguez, United Teachers of Dade president Karla Hernández-Mats and state Democratic Hispanic caucus president Rolando Barrero. 1 YEAR — “Anika Omphroy on probation for violating campaign finance laws,” reports Florida Politics’ Jacob Ogles. “Former state Rep. Anika Omphroy is on probation after pleading no contest to violating campaign finance laws. The Lauderdale Lakes Democrat must complete community service each month as part of her sentence.”
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HEALTH CARE COVERAGE — “New rules on child health insurance ramp up feds legal dispute with Florida,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Christopher O'Donnell. “Under the new rules, children who become uninsured should be able to transition to KidCare immediately instead of an up to 60-day delay that may occur in Florida. The new policy also ends lifetime limits on how much the children’s health insurance programs spend on individual children and guarantees at least 12 months continuous coverage by restricting states to conducting no more than one eligibility check per year.”
DISPUTE OVER HAITI CRISIS — “Frost blasts DeSantis on Haiti, calls for helping refugees fleeing violence,” reports Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel. “Imagine the Haitian people in our community waking up every morning to see the devastation in Haiti,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando. “And [then they] turn on the TV and see their bigoted governor use his power not to console the people, not to tell them he’s going to do what he can to help the island and to help Haiti, but to demonize and dehumanize them. It’s disgusting.” — “Rick Scott meets with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel,” reports Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski.
| | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association: CONGRESS: OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL INTERCHANGE BILL:
In today's digital age, where cyber threats loom larger than ever, safeguarding your personal information is paramount. So why are some DC politicians considering a bill that puts YOUR credit card data at greater risk of being hacked and exposed to foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party? The Durbin-Marshall Interchange Bill jeopardizes the financial data of hardworking Florida families. This controversial bill would shift billions of dollars’ worth of consumer transactions to untested networks. Imagine a world where your credit card details—your hard-earned money—is easily stolen by Chinese hackers. Interchange mandates undermine our safe and convenient payments system, prioritizing corporate greed over YOUR data security. Congress: OPPOSE the Durbin-Marshall Interchange Bill. Learn more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2780356 | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
BIRTHDAYS: Tina Cummings Grier, executive assistant to president/CEO at Florida TaxWatch … Chris Korge, national finance chair of the Biden Victory Fund … (Saturday) former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy ... state Rep. Fabián Basabe … (Sunday) state Rep. Dana Trabulsy
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