| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody speaks as Gov. Ron DeSantis looks on after announcing a proposal for Digital Bill of Rights, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla. | Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo | Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Florida is challenging a student loan repayment program just as President Joe Biden is out with a new plan to cancel or reduce more debt. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody joined a federal lawsuit against the “SAVE Plan” yesterday alongside Missouri and four other states, calling the program “extraordinarily expensive and controversial.” The lawsuit to block the plan likened the White House’s approach on loans as being similar to Covid vaccine mandates and immigration — areas where Florida also launched legal challenges because it saw the Biden administration as over-exerting its power. “We will fight in court to make sure that hard-working Americans, who are struggling to buy groceries thanks to Biden, are not on the hook for other people’s debt,” Moody said in a statement. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the president’s 2022 student loan plan following lawsuits from six states. Florida wasn’t in the mix that time around but did file two amicus briefs in support of the states. “When the attorney general saw, that once again, Biden was going to thumb his nose at the United State Supreme Court so blatantly and to even brag about it — stating [in February] ‘it didn’t stop me’ — the attorney general wanted to be a formal, named party to this challenge,” Kylie Mason, spokesperson for Moody, told Playbook. An estimated 2.7 million Floridians have outstanding student loans totaling $103.3 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid site which last updated its data in September 2023. The lawsuit is over a repayment plan that lowers monthly payments for borrowers and forgives loans in as little as a decade. The Biden administration announced the “SAVE Plan” in 2022 and has canceled debt for more than 150,000 Americans through that mechanism, per The Associated Press. Given that a student loan cancellation bill doesn’t have enough support in Congress, Biden has moved on the issue unilaterally in a bid to keep a 2020 campaign promise and to try to win over younger voters during an election year. It’s a politically salient issue for both sides. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who is up for reelection in November, praised Moody for her actions and criticized Biden’s plan as a “dangerous, socialist scheme” while U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), who has introduced bills to reduce loans, accused “MAGA Republicans” of being “hell-bent on closing the doors of opportunity for our hardworking, want-to-be-somebody students.” With the plan unveiled Monday, Biden targeted specific areas, such as unpaid interest or borrowers who’ve had debt for decades, rather than the across-the-board forgiveness plan he pursued last time that would have cost the federal government $430 billion. The Department of Education will first detail the plan and gather feedback before starting to implement it — though, just like the “SAVE Plan,” states are likely to challenge the more sweeping plan as well. WHERE'S RON: DeSantis will hold a press conference in St. Petersburg at 10:45 a.m. with Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | | | Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
IN MEMORIAM — Celebration of life and funeral mass services for First Gentleman John Passidomo are set for April 26 and April 27 in Naples, Florida.
|  The Old Capitol and current Florida Capitol buildings are seen, Feb. 8, 2023, in Tallahassee, Florida. | Phil Sears/AP, File | HALTED — Judge slams Florida’s school pronoun restrictions in siding with transgender teacher, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. A federal judge blocked state and local education officials from enforcing a controversial Florida law against a transgender Hillsborough County teacher, ruling Tuesday that the policy forbidding employees from using pronouns in schools that differ from their sex at birth is a violation of First Amendment freedoms. The decision by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker to grant a temporary injunction over the law is a win for the Hillsborough teacher, but the ruling will not apply to other school employees across the state. It marks the latest court ruling slamming a Florida law restricting free speech after an appeals court deemed one of the DeSantis administration’s signature laws — the “Stop Woke” Act — unconstitutional. WORKING INTO RETIREMENT AGE — “Older Floridians are going back to work as life gets less affordable,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Lauren Peace. “Americans are living longer, and for some, continuing to work in their later years is a practical choice made for mental and social well-being. But for many … it’s also a matter of necessity. Seniors work because they have to afford medical bills, mortgages, food and the occasional pleasure. Because their fixed incomes and drained savings accounts are no longer enough to keep them afloat as the cost of groceries, homeowners association fees and insurance rates soar. Because they’re one crisis from financial disaster and fear they won’t be able to afford assisted living if their health suddenly declines.” NOW CHECKING IN WITH THE YOUTHS … “Florida student aid requests plunge. How many will delay or skip college?” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Ian Hodgson. “Students and families were promised last year that the federal application for college financial aid was about to get easier. The number of questions they had to answer dropped from 100 to 36. But after a three-month delay in making the form available and a series of crippling mistakes, completions are way down, according to federal data. While families are being encouraged to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, some are unable to finish it or may have been deterred from the process.” GUN DEATHS — “Florida is tied for 2nd most mass shootings in U.S. in 2024. Here is where they've happened,” reports C.A. Bridges of USA Today Network - Florida. There has been “nine mass shootings in Florida so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. But that's still better than 2023, which saw 12 mass shootings by the same time with seven in January alone. As of April 9, there have been 103 mass shootings nationwide, compared to 149 by the same time in 2023.” FIGHTING CRIME — “DeSantis signs law to increase penalties for shoplifters, porch pirates, group theft rings,” reports Travis Gibson of News4Jax. “DeSantis said the new law will make it so anyone who commits up to three retail thefts in a year can be convicted of a felony … The Republican-led Florida Legislature passed the law that will increase penalties for groups of five or more people who steal from a store to a third-degree felony. It would also be a second-degree felony to use social media to solicit others to participate in retail theft.” | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
GO BETWEEN — “Argentine president drops pro-Trump lobbyist,” reports Semafor’s Joseph Zeballos-Roig. “Miami-based lobbyist Damian Merlo worked as an adviser to Milei’s campaign late last year, during which time he helped arrange an interview between the soon-to-be leader and conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson that streamed on X in September. Milei was then commanding global attention for his right-wing populist promises to smash his country’s central bank and fire much of its government bureaucracy. But as Milei attempts to navigate complex domestic and international politics — which involve working with the Biden administration in Washington — he’s let his contract with Merlo expire, according to public filings.”
LEGAL TEAM — “A county commissioner is representing Díaz de la Portilla in criminal corruption case,” reports the Miami Herald’s Tess Riski. “For months, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon, a criminal defense attorney by trade, has been quietly working with the legal team representing former Miami City Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla in a bribery and money laundering case. Hardemon has appeared reticent to discuss his role in the case, declining to comment or evading questions from Miami Herald reporters at City and County Commission meetings this year. But campaign finance reports from the final months of 2023 show that Hardemon, who previously served alongside Díaz de la Portilla on the Miami City Commission, was paid $25,000 by Proven Leadership for Miami-Dade County, a political committee controlled by Díaz de la Portilla, in an Oct. 11 expenditure labeled ‘legal fees.’” — “Florida's strict laws make Latin America a potential destination to get an abortion,” reports WLRN’s Helen Acevedo and Sergio R. Bustos | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
STAYING OUT OF IT — Trump’s abortion stance could put Florida Republicans in a bind, by POLITICO’s Kimberly Leonard and Arek Sarkissian. There’s no state that will need to navigate Donald Trump’s abortion stance quite like Florida, which has authorized one of the strictest abortion bans in the country but also could broadly enshrine abortion rights protections in the state constitution through a ballot measure in November.
The Republican Party of Florida and key conservative lawmakers, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, consider Florida’s ballot initiative “extreme” and want voters to oppose it. But they’re not calling on Trump to pick up a megaphone over the cause. They generally support his stance to leave one of the most politically treacherous issues for Republicans up to states to decide.
| |  Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | MAKING THE ROUNDS IN FLORIDA — “Debbie Mucarsel-Powell to launch abortion rights tour Wednesday,” reports Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics. “The Miami Democrat will criticize incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. Rick Scott for his prior statements supporting the state law … The tour’s first stop will be West Palm around 12:30 p.m., with state Sen. Lori Berman, a Delray Beach Democrat, also expected to attend. Mucarsel-Powell will continue to Miami for a 6 p.m. meeting on Thursday with the University of Miami Democrats. On Friday, the campaign will host a 1 p.m. public ‘conversation’ with Miami community leaders. Officials with the campaign expect other elected Democrats to appear with the Senate hopeful.” CASH RAISED — Former state Sen. Annette Taddeo’s campaign for Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court and Comptroller announced raised more than $105,000 in the seven weeks since its launch. COMMISSIONER CONTEST — “Winter Garden election runoff pits familiar foes for a third time,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Stephen Hudak. “Incumbent Ron Mueller and Iliana Ramos Jones — neighbors in Lake Cove Pointe, a gated community in the west Orange city of Winter Garden — have been here before. Next Tuesday, they’ll face off for the third time in three years for the same elected job.” — “After candidate’s mysterious withdrawal, Lee Commissioner Greenwell faces competition in primary,” reports the Florida Trident’s Anne Geggis | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | |
MAR-A-LAGO DOCS — Siding with special counsel, Cannon agrees to keep witness identities secret, reports POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney. The judge handling the classified documents case against Donald Trump has granted prosecutors’ request to delete the names of potential witnesses from public court filings, but turned down a more sweeping request that even their statements be kept under wraps.
Special counsel Jack Smith argued that the witnesses were likely to face threats and harassment if their identities were revealed, and that even making their accounts public could lead to their public identification. ‘BEYOND THE BORDER’ — “Crime concerns grow as members of a violent Venezuelan gang arrive in American cities,” reports the Miami Herald’s Antonio Maria Delgado. “In a letter to President Biden, [Rep.] Salazar and other Republican lawmakers asked him to designate the gang as a Transnational Criminal Organization, arguing that the Tren de Aragua “is an invading criminal army from a prison in Venezuela that has spread their brutality and chaos to U.S. cities and small towns.” — Florida woman is sentenced to a month in jail for selling Biden’s daughter’s diary, reports The Associated Press. A Florida mother was sentenced Tuesday to a month in prison and three months of home confinement for stealing and selling President Joe Biden’s daughter’s diary four years ago to the conservative group Project Veritas. Aimee Harris was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who called the Palm Beach, Florida, woman’s actions “despicable.” — McCarthy blames Gaetz's ethics problems for his ouster, reports POLITICO’s Ben Jacobs | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
— Jeremy Redfern and his wife have welcomed a new baby boy
— “Goodbye snow, hello palm trees, more people moving to Florida,” per CBS Miami BIRTHDAYS: Former state Rep. Will Kendrick … Jose Gonzalez, director of government and industry relations at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts ... Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
