| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Then-Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL). | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Floridians are sick of how expensive everything has become. And this week, the likely Democratic candidate for Senate got specific about how she’d try to address the wide-ranging problem. Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the Democratic Party’s likely nominee to face Republican Sen. Rick Scott in November, released the first detailed policy platform of her campaign yesterday. In it, she lists specific affordability-related bills she’d want to become law. Politicians generally don’t do this — they instead tend to make vague promises or outline a novel plan that they vow will one day become legislation. To cite just a few bills: Mucarsel-Powell wants to introduce the Senate version of a bill from Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) that aims to lower property insurance rates by a quarter. Another would allow the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to go after companies that shrink their products without also lowering prices. She also supports a measure to penalize prescription drug companies that raise prices at a higher rate than inflation. “The reason why I know where to go and look at these bills is because I have the experience of actually having served in Congress, and I did a lot in the two years that I was there,” Mucarsel-Powell said, citing examples such as a measure she worked on to regulate Florida’s waterways with Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) and her support for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement under the Trump administration. “I love policy,” she added, “and there are so many ways that you can actually help the people that you represent.” Some areas she cites are similar to policies Scott has supported, such as reducing the influence of Chinese manufacturers in solar panel creation and encouraging the purchase of U.S.-made products as a way to create more jobs in Florida. Scott supported the expansion of the child tax credit in then-President Donald Trump’s tax law, and wanted to go further with it, while Mucarsel-Powell opposed the law but wants even more families to get the full cash refund. Mucarsel-Powell rolled out her three-page affordability plan the same day the White House released a memo on economic actions President Joe Biden has taken, which blamed big corporations for “price gouging” and highlighted the president’s actions on areas like student loan relief and ditching airline fees. It also comes as new housing data and consumer confidence information is expected later this week. In recent months, Mucarsel-Powell has gone in hard on reproductive rights, given that Florida’s anti-abortion laws became more strict. But a poll out from CBS News this weekend shows the economy and inflation are the lead factors affecting voters’ decisions. That same poll showed Scott ahead by 8 points, though the primary for both isn’t until August. In an interview, Mucarsel-Powell accused Scott and other Florida Republicans of failing to “take control of the situation” and blamed them for Florida’s affordability issues. “People here in our state are so tired of the chaos, the division, the political grandstanding, the personal attacks against each other and not really bringing solutions … They're looking for people that are truly going to put their interests first and that are going to be working for solutions to make it just a little easier,” she said. But Scott’s team countered that it’s President Joe Biden’s policies that are to blame. “Joe Biden and Washington Democrats’ spending addiction caused massive inflation that is devastating for families in Florida and across the country,” Scott campaign spokesperson Jonathan Turcotte said. “Anyone with a brain can see that. The fact that Debbie refuses to acknowledge that is just one of the many reasons voters will reject her in November, assuming she even wins her primary.” Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | | 
A housing development built in Everglades wetlands is seen from the air near Naples, Florida, in October 2019. | Robert F. Bukaty/AP | REJECTED — “Appeals court denies Florida request for wetlands permitting stay,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. “A three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in an order Monday only that Florida had not ‘satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal.’ The judges did not address the merits of the case." HIDDEN RECORDS — “How much does it cost DeSantis to travel from one place to another? Florida won't tell you,” by Douglas Soule of USA Today Network — Florida. “Gov. Ron DeSantis regularly jets around the state. Stops over the last month have included Coral Gables, Jacksonville and Cape Canaveral, all to sign bills passed by the Florida Legislature earlier this year. His constituents may know DeSantis went to these three cities, but they won't know how much it cost them. The state says such financial records are exempt from public records disclosure, citing a 2023 law geared at concealing certain information to prevent the endangerment of the governor and other officials.” WWW — “Pregnancy, parenting info soon coming to a tax-supported website near you,” reports Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics. “Look for a state supported online pregnancy and parenting resource hub no later than Jan. 1, 2025, under a new law that takes effect July 1. The legislation (HB 415), sponsored by Republican Rep. Berny Jacques, also includes a one-time $466,200 appropriation to cover the cost of for the state to contract with a third party to develop the website … The website must include, at a minimum, information on resources related to: educational materials on pregnancy and parenting; maternal health services; prenatal and postnatal services; educational and mentorship programs for fathers; social services; financial assistance; and adoption services.” FOSTER BACKLASH — “Florida child welfare agency wages legal battle, seeks felony charge for ex-watchdog,” by the Miami Herald’s Carol Marbin Miller. “As the state’s long-time child welfare ombudsman, it was Heather Cox Rosenberg’s job to fight for Florida’s foster children and their parents — an assignment her former employer accused her of sometimes doing too well. Leaders from the Department of Children and Families said she ‘disparaged the department’ on social media, encouraged foster parents to seek costly care for children from a cash-strapped bureaucracy — and to go to court when they’re denied. She gave advice to families on ‘how to challenge and undermine department rules, policy and legal counsel,’ a lawyer said. She even sued her bosses in an effort to get help for her own adoptive children.” REVERBERATIONS — “Hundreds of nursing homes in Florida forced to close due to surging property insurance rates,” by the New York Post’s Ariel Zilber. “Hundreds of nursing homes in Florida have been forced to shut their doors over the past five years because of the soaring cost of commercial property insurance in the state. In the five-year period ending in 2023, an average of 146 nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in Florida have closed each year, according to the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration. During that same five-year period, commercial property insurance premiums rose 125 percent in Florida.” ... Per Bloomberg’s in depth-report on the issue, “two major, generational forces are colliding: The toll of climate change, and the challenge of caring for an aging society.” UNTOUCHED — “Florida leaders offered $3 billion to property insurers. $2.2 billion wasn’t claimed,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Jeffrey Schweers. “More than two-thirds of the $3 billion set aside by the Florida Legislature to shore up the state’s collapsing property insurance industry has gone untouched since it first became available in 2022. Many insurance companies, which asked the Legislature for help, have mostly steered clear of that money. Industry analysts said it only covered a small part of their hurricane losses or was too expensive compared with the reinsurance they could get in the private market. Insurers had to reduce rates to get the money.” NEW DATA — “Abortions topped 22,000 before Florida’s 6-week ban went into effect,” reports News Service of Florida. “Newly posted data on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website showed a reported 22,409 abortions had been performed as of May 1. That was up from 14,735 abortions a month earlier.”
| | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | TODAY — “Sarasota Memorial Hospital board will consider adopting Ladapo's anti-vaccine guidance,” by Earle Kimel of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board will weigh a proposal by board member Vic Rohe that the hospital embrace assertions by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo that Covid–19 vaccinations are risky and inappropriate for human use when it meets at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Federal health officials say Ladapo’s position is contrary to science and potentially deadly.” ALSO TODAY — An appeals court in Miami will take up former Everglades Foundation scientist Tom Van Lent's appeal of his conviction for contempt of court. His former employer in 2022 filed a lawsuit against Van Lent claiming he stole trade secrets. Circuit Court Judge Carlos Lopez in May 2023 ruled that Van Lent violated a court order by deleting Foundation records from his computer. He sentenced Van Lent to 10 days in jail last December. Van Lent argues that the Foundation targeted him after he announced he was taking a job with Friends of the Everglades. Van Lent had told the court that he deleted files on his personal computer because they contained banking and tax records and confidential legal records that weren't relevant to the Everglades Foundation lawsuit. Van Lent argued on appeal that the court order was "vague and ambiguous," and that Lopez committed a fundamental error by allowing a lawyer representing the Foundation to prosecute the criminal contempt charges at a hearing. — Bruce Ritchie
| 
Kenyan President William Ruto speaks at a lectern. | Brian Inganga/AP | SECURITY SUPPORT — “Kenyan President Ruto arrives in U.S. during pivotal week for Haiti force deployment,” by the Miami Herald’s Michael Wilner and Jacqueline Charles. “Kenyan President William Ruto landed in Atlanta on Monday for the start of a critical week of talks with the Biden administration over the long-planned deployment of a multinational security mission to Haiti. The Kenyan-led mission could begin within days, despite concerns among some administration officials that preparations on the ground are not ready to receive the Kenyan police force.” FINALLY BACK — “Haiti’s main international airport reopens nearly three months after gang violence forced it closed,” by Dánica Coto of The Associated Press. “The reopening of the Toussaint-Louverture airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince is expected to help ease a critical shortage of medications and other basic supplies. The country’s main seaport remains paralyzed. Gangs control 80 percent of the capital.” SCHOOL SAFETY THREATS — “Bomb threats in Broward schools won’t trigger automatic evacuations, new directive says,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Scott Travis. “Broward schools should no longer automatically evacuate for bomb threats, under a new directive that instructs principals and law enforcement to assess how credible the risk is. The goal is to reduce campus disruptions caused by a recent spike in bomb threats, according to a May 10 memo to principals from Jaime Alberti, chief of safety and security for the school district.” — “Orlando-based Red Lobster files for bankruptcy but will stay open,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Mark Skoneki.
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | TODAY — “Election day is here for voters in Orlando’s District 5,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Ryan Gillespie. “Seven candidates have spent the past six weeks making their cases at a half-dozen candidate forums and neighborhood doorsteps ... [Former Commissioner Regina] Hill was suspended last month by Gov. Ron DeSantis following her felony indictment on charges of elder abuse and fraud.” COALITION LAUNCH — “Courting Cuban voters, Rick Scott says Biden ‘turned his back’ on Latin America,” reports the Miami Herald’s Max Greenwood. “U.S. Sen. Rick Scott used a campaign stop in Hialeah Gardens on Monday to rebuke President Joe Biden over his approach to Cuba and democracy in Latin America, accusing the president of appeasing authoritarian regimes throughout the region.” TRUMP CASH FLOW — “‘October 7 was a turning point’: Trump’s pro-Israel fundraising accelerates,” by the Bulwark’s Marc Caputo. “Rep. Jared Moskowitz said [he expects] more donations from Jewish Republicans and independents to flow to Trump. Moskowitz said he has spent days trying to calm down pro-Israel donors outraged with campus protests and Biden’s interview on CNN where he announced the weapons-delivery pause.”
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S ENERGY SUMMIT: The future of energy faces a crossroads in 2024 as policymakers and industry leaders shape new rules, investments and technologies. Join POLITICO’s Energy Summit on June 5 as we convene top voices to examine the shifting global policy environment in a year of major elections in the U.S. and around the world. POLITICO will examine how governments are writing and rewriting new rules for the energy future and America’s own role as a major exporter. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | TRANSITION TIME | | — George Alderman is joining Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.)’s office as press secretary. He most recently was an associate at Targeted Victory.
| | BIRTHDAYS: Former Sen. George LeMieux … Former Rep. and Florida House Speaker Tom Feeney. | | | | 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 | | | | |
