| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) makes a statement to the press. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Good morning and happy Friday. Time for beleaguered House Speaker Mike Johnson to hit up Florida again. The Louisiana Republican is heading to Mar-a-Lago today to hold an afternoon press conference with former President Donald Trump billed as a “major” announcement on “election integrity.” It's not clear what the specific announcement will be, but USA Today is reporting that it's about a bill that aims to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting — a practice that is already illegal. This will be the first joint public appearance the two men are doing since Johnson became speaker, though in November Johnson did turn to Florida’s west coast for his first major fundraiser and he has also visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago twice since taking on his role overseeing the lower chamber. The appearance comes as Trump ally U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) is threatening to have Johnson removed from his role. Notably, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) does not plan to take action against Johnson, despite leading the charge against Kevin McCarthy’s speakership last year. Trumpworld, too, has no desire for a speakership fight during an election year, our colleagues at D.C. Playbook reported. Trump has been trying to wield more influence over the GOP agenda, including by encouraging conservatives to try to defeat a warrantless spying bill Johnson wants to pass. He also opposes Johnson’s priority to send more security aid to Ukraine, and refused to accept what had been a GOP consensus that the U.S. should pass a national abortion limit. But the meetup today may help to show how closely Johnson wants to be aligned with MAGA, and Johnson has been able to win Trump over on endorsing certain GOP primary candidates ahead of the election. It's all just another example of how Trump — from the perch of his gilded, oceanfront club in Palm Beach — continues to be the power center of the Republican Party. Finally, today’s afternoon meeting may also take away from whatever news breaks out of federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, regarding the latest in the classified documents case. A hearing is scheduled for this afternoon on motions by Trump’s co-defendants — aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — and it’s possible that Judge Aileen Cannon will discuss the timing of the forthcoming trial, including whether it’ll still proceed before the November elections. WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis is doing a press conference in St. Augustine, Florida, at 10 a.m. with Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass. 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 ... | |
PLANNING AHEAD — Anti-abortion groups eye challenge if Florida voters approves ballot measure, reports POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. Anti-abortion groups in Florida will try to block implementation of a ballot measure protecting the procedure if voters approve the initiative in November, signaling that the fight over abortion rights in the state will likely continue far past this year’s elections.
Mat Staver, the founder of the anti-abortion group Liberty Counsel and who argued against the ballot measure before the state Supreme Court last winter, said on Thursday that if voters approve the initiative, “there is a prime lawsuit waiting to take it up to the Florida Supreme Court.” ON DESK — “DeSantis receives bill blocking civilian review boards from investigating law enforcement,” reports News Service of Florida. “The measure (HB 601), which the Legislature passed last month, would affect at least 21 cities with civilian review boards … Supporters of the boards say they can delve into complaints about alleged police wrongdoing. The bill would allow sheriffs to establish “civilian oversight” boards that would review policies and procedures of law enforcement agencies. Each board would include three to seven members appointed by the sheriff. One of the members would have to be a retired law enforcement officer.” BREAKTHROUGH? — “Citizens Insurance’s ‘depopulation’ push reduced policy count by more than 275,000 last year,” reports Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida. “Private insurers pulled more than 275,000 policies last year from the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and have taken nearly 115,000 this year, with Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio saying he thinks ‘we’re coming through to the other side’ after years of troubles in the market.” AMID RAILROAD DEATHS — “The new penalty for trying to illegally cross train tracks will be significantly costlier,” reports the Palm Beach Post’s James Coleman. “A new Florida law has updated penalties for disregarding warning signals and attempting to illegally cross active railroad tracks. For a first violation, the fine is $500 or 25 hours of community service. The violator will also have six points assessed against his/her driver's license … the law will go into effect July 1. The penalties apply to both drivers and pedestrians.” — “Will a Florida museum on Black history tell whole story? Some worry it won’t,” reports Leslie Postal of the Orlando Sentinel | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
WORK PERK — “New College of Florida board approves $200k bonus for Corcoran, denies tenure to professor,” reportsSteven Walker of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “The annual bonus, as laid out in Corcoran's contract with New College, is based on his performance since taking over as the college's leader last March. The additional pay is in addition to his $699,000 base salary, which combined with other benefits and bonuses brings Corcoran's total compensation to about $1.1 million — among the highest in the state university system despite New College being the smallest Florida public university.”
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS — “Is Miami Beach’s protest crackdown really ‘nonpartisan’? Records show Israel views played role,” reports the Miami Herald’s Aaron Leibowitz. “A resolution by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner to impose new restrictions on protests in the city initially asserted support for Israel and condemned the use of a pro-Palestinian chant before it was edited by the City Attorney’s Office to remove most of those references, according to emails obtained by the Miami Herald. While much of the language was removed from the resolution that the City Commission passed unanimously March 13, the draft version sheds light on the apparent intentions behind establishing time, place and manner restrictions for protests — despite statements by the mayor at two recent meetings that the Miami Beach government is ‘nonpartisan’ and that his measure ‘never mentioned” Israel.’” PUSHED BACK — “Corruption trial of suspended Miami-Dade commissioner stalls as court mulls judge’s actions,” reports the Miami Herald’s Charles Rabin. “The long-anticipated public corruption trial of a decorated cop who parlayed 17 years of policing into decades of public service at the highest levels of Miami-Dade County government, was delayed at least a week as an appeals court mulls the interaction between the suspended commissioner and the judge overseeing the trial.” — “Disgraced Venezuela official once close to Maduro ran drug trade, kept ties with Hezbollah,” reports the Miami Herald’s Antonio Maria Delgado | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | | | 
AFormer U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at the Atlanta Airport on April 10, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. | Megan Varner/Getty Images | FLORIDA FUNDRAISER — “Trump raises $8 million at Orlando-area fundraiser, attorney Dan Newlin says,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello. “The event was part of a string of fundraisers designed to help Trump close the money gap with the Biden campaign. The Biden campaign listed $71 million cash on hand in March in its latest Federal Election Commission filing, more than twice what the Trump campaign had brought in.” SHOWDOWN — “Abortion, marijuana ballot measures poised for epic fight in Florida,” report John Kennedy and Douglas Soule of USA Today Network - Florida. “Ballot measures on abortion and marijuana are emerging as an epic clash in Florida, with forces on both sides portraying the choice facing voters as a social and cultural marker that will shape the lives of Floridians for generations.” CASH HAUL — The campaign behind a ballot initiative seeking to legalize pot in the November election took in almost $14.9 million in the first quarter of the year with help from more Florida medical marijuana companies than just Trulieve. The measure, which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3, asks voters to legalize marijuana for people who are 21 years old and older. The campaign is led by the Smart & Safe Florida committee, and the initiative has to receive 60 percent of the vote in order to make the state Constitution. Smart & Safe raised more than $14.8 million as the medical marijuana industry anticipated a favorable state Supreme Court ruling that was finally handed down last week. The decision cleared legalization for the 2024 ballot, which shifted the campaign to convincing voters in the roughly 200 days until Election Day. According to state campaign finance reports that were due to the state this week, Trulieve contributed another $9.2 million from January through March this year, adding to the more than $39 million contributed by the company since the campaign began in 2022. Verano Holdings, which operates MÜV dispensaries in Florida, contributed $2.25 million. Curaleaf contributed $2 million, and Green Thumb Industries and AYR Wellness Inc. each gave the campaign $500,000. Cresco Labs contributed $400,000, state campaign finance records show. — Arek Sarkissian EXPLAINER — “Q&A: How would legal recreational marijuana work in Florida?” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Skyler Swisher. “Supporters argue that Floridians should be free to choose whether to smoke pot for fun, and legalization can be done in a safe way that will generate tax revenue for the state. Opponents say the amendment is too broad and will lead to more drug use in Florida.” NEW CANDIDATE — Democrat Ashley Brundage, a diversity advocate who trains companies on diversity, equity and inclusion, just launched her campaign for the Florida House of Representatives in District 65, currently held by state Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman, a Republican. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has targeted gender identity and LGBTQ+ issues, last year sent a congratulatory letter to the Florida transgender influencer for her advocacy work helping women and children. (The Floridian’s Liv Caputo has an exclusive interview with Brundage, who could become the first transgender lawmaker in Florida’s history.) | | | | 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. | |
FEATURED — “Matt Gaetz is winning,” by The Atlantic’s Elaine Godfrey. Rep. Matt Gaetz “is a creature of our time: versed in the art of performance politics and eager to blow up anything to get a little something.”
| | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | |
FLORIDA TIES — “Former NFL star, acquitted murder suspect and former Kendall resident O.J. Simpson dies,” reports the Miami Herald’s David J. Neal. “He lived in Miami’s Kendall area between being acquitted of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman’s murders in 1995 and going to prison in 2008 after a botched Las Vegas robbery attempt involving his memorabilia. During that time, Simpson was found civilly liable for Goldman and his ex-wife’s deaths in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victims’ families.”
BIRTHDAYS: GOP operative Fred Piccolo … Joe Saunders, former state legislator and Equality Florida’s senior political director ... state Rep. Jessica Baker ... Trey Stapleton of D3 Strategic Partners ... The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partner’s Chris Chaney ... Jared Rosenstein of Capital City Consulting … (Saturday) Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis … former Rep. Ted Yoho … state Rep. Sam Killebrew … state Rep. John Snyder … former state Rep. Elaine Schwartz … Doug Cook, former head of the Agency for Health Care Administration … (Sunday) Frank Penela, external and legislative affairs director for the Florida Commission on Human Relations | | | | 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 | | | | |
