| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci prepares to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Capitol Hill, on June 3, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. A House oversight committee dragged Dr. Anthony Fauci out of retirement yesterday to talk about his work during the Covid pandemic, surfacing lingering animosity over his handling of the crisis under both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The hearing’s stated purpose was to learn from past mistakes and find ways to get better at responding to pandemics, though the back and forth largely devolved into Republicans grilling Fauci about Covid’s origins and regulations — with some calling for him to be jailed. In turn, Democrats defended Fauci and made thinly veiled references to the fact that it was Trump who was actually a convicted felon. The hearing served as a reminder of how Florida, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, essentially ignored Fauci’s advice. Down ballot, it’ll provide fodder to Republicans who will boast about DeSantis’ approach as they try to win over the support of voters, reminding many transplants why they rebuilt their lives here in the first place. “There was no science,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who’s considering running for Florida governor in two years, wrote in a post on X about Fauci saying the six-feet social distancing recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wasn’t based on clinical trials. Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) praised colleagues for “holding Dr. Fauci accountable.” Fauci has been one of DeSantis’ favorite boogeymen. His gubernatorial reelection campaign sold “Don’t Fauci My Florida” merch and the governor often boasts that he prevented Florida from becoming a “Faucian dystopia.” When he ran for president he promised to bring a “reckoning” to Fauci over his handling of the pandemic. Though DeSantis lost the GOP nomination, a Florida grand jury is still looking into the Covid vaccine and its manufacturers, and already criticized forced masking and lockdowns. Fauci mostly stood by his pandemic actions during yesterday’s hearing. Asked about lockdowns, he maintained they were justified “when we were trying to stop the tsunami of deaths that were occurring early on,” but added that the length of time they stuck around was “debatable.” A cost-benefit analysis should be done over whether vaccine mandates made people more hesitant to get the shot, he said, “given the psyche of the country and the pushback.” He also insisted he had “always kept an open mind” about where the virus was from, including the lab-leak theory, though he’d dismissed it in 2020, and said he didn’t personally recommend vaccine mandates but “it was a combination of a group.” But Fauci didn’t budge on the importance of vaccines and predicted 1 million more people would have died if the virus had been allowed to just rip through the population. His comments come roughly six before Florida tends to have its seasonal Covid surge, when the sweltering heat drives people indoors. This year, however, the state defied federal officials and explicitly advised people not to get the Moderna or Pfizer shots at all. No Republicans from Florida were on yesterday’s panel, though the Democrats who were, Reps. Kathy Castor and Jared Moskowitz, did raise the need to better prepare for the next pandemic. Moskowitz noted that at the start of the pandemic he’d been DeSantis’ director of emergency response, coordinating the deployment of masks, gloves, field hospitals and testing sites. He asked Fauci whether he thought the U.S was better prepared now. “In some ways we are, but in others I’m still disappointed,” Fauci said. “One of the things that was really a problem with the response was the degree of divisiveness that we had in the country about a lack of a coherent response where we were having people, for reasons that had nothing to do with public health or science, refusing to adhere to public health intervention measures.” WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis has a press conference in Fort Myers at 10 a.m. with Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and with Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida's division of emergency management. 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 ... | | OPEN FOR BUSINESS — “Trulieve and others open new medical pot dispensaries as Florida legalization effort continues,” by POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. “Trulieve announced the opening of its 200th medical marijuana dispensary in the country on Monday, bolstering the company’s first-place position in Florida as it leads a campaign to legalize pot by expanding the state’s medical pot market. Trulieve has opened a second location in Brooksville, marking the 137th brick-and-mortar location in Florida for the Tallahassee-based company since it started business in 2016. Trulieve’s rapid expansion model has given the company the most stores in the state. Its closest competition is MÜV, which is owned by the Chicago-based Verano Holdings Corp, with 75 dispensaries.” ALIVE — “The case that won’t die: DeSantis joins Patronis in boosting fortunes of big contributor in ‘Tooth Fairy’ case,’” by the Florida Bulldog’s Dan Christensen. “Operation Tooth Fairy, the insurance fraud case cooked up by Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis that Miami-Dade prosecutors refused to prosecute, has been quietly reanimated and retargeted by Gov. Ron DeSantis. And like Patronis, DeSantis used his position to take official action that boosted the $24.6-million corporate takeover quest of a wealthy contributor who has pumped tens of thousands of dollars into the governor’s political war chest. The governor acted March 27 issuing an executive order assigning a criminal investigation of Jacksonville dentist Dr. Howard Fetner to Brian Kramer, the Gainesville-based state attorney for Florida’s Eighth Judicial Circuit. The order says the allegations against Fetner are for ‘submitting false and fraudulent insurance claims, schemes to defraud, criminal use of personal identification information, and grand theft.’” PRIDE MONTH — “Florida plummets in ranking of LGBTQ+ safety, but is it the worst on this list?” by Samantha Neely of USA Today Network — Florida. “Home security and safety blog Safe Home released their annual report of the best and worst states for LGBTQ+ safety, noting hate crimes have risen and more anti-LGBTQ+ bills were passed last year … Florida saw a score of 48 percent on Safe Home's ranking, earning the second slot on the list for states with the worst LGBTQ+ safety. Experts said the state has one of the worst legal environments and ranked dead last in participation rates for law enforcement agency crime reporting.” ‘CLARIFYING LANGUAGE’ — “Florida revises school library book removal training following public outcry,” by Douglas Soule of USA Today Network — Florida. “Florida is moving forward with a revised training program for local public school officials in charge of policing library and classroom bookshelves, including changes to language that free speech advocates said misrepresented state law and led to unnecessary book removals.” TELEHEALTH — “Florida seniors get new option for mental health help from home,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Cindy Krischer Goodman. “Talkspace, a national online behavioral healthcare company, is rolling out its service to 5 million traditional Medicare members in Florida. The company said its tele-mental health therapy aims to address the high rates of anxiety and depression in seniors. About 20 percent of people 55 years or older experience some type of mental health concern, according to the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry. Traditionally, waiting lists for therapists can be long and services costly.” — “Free master's degree entices dozens of special ed teachers, but Florida needs thousands,” by WLRN’s Yvonne Bertucci zum Tobel. RESIDENCY SCRUTINY — “Ethics complaint alleges Orlando-area Rep. Antone doesn’t live in his district,” by Silas Morgan for the Orlando Sentinel. “The only primary challenger to longtime Central Florida lawmaker Bruce Antone has filed an ethics complaint alleging Antone doesn’t reside in the district he was elected to represent – and that he has not for years. Janét Buford-Johnson based her complaint on a report by the Fresh Take Florida news service – published in the Orlando Sentinel – examining Antone’s use of multiple addresses outside of the district on official documents including voter registration forms, property tax records and campaign financial disclosure forms.”
|  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | ... DESANTIS SIGNS NEW BILLS INTO LAW ... — “Gov. DeSantis signs bill creating grant program for sickle cell disease research, treatment,” by Florida Politics’ Jesse Scheckner. “Under the program, the department’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity will provide grants to community-based sickle cell disease treatment and research centers. The money is to pay for therapeutic operations, workforce and workforce development costs.” — “Long list of HOA reforms signed into law by Gov. DeSantis,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ron Hurtibise. “Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that cracks down on controversial enforcement practices by homeowner associations while requiring greater transparency by those associations. Among a long list of measures, the new law bars HOAs from fining homeowners for failing to bring in a trash can within 24 hours before or after a collection time. It also prohibits HOAs from fining residents for leaving holiday decorations up longer than allowed by governing documents unless a written notice is issued.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | TODAY — “Florida Atlantic University Board to restart presidential search,” by News Service of Florida. “The FAU Board of Trustees is slated during a meeting Tuesday to take early steps toward selecting a search firm to assist in finding a new leader. The board also is expected to set responsibilities of a search committee. Boca Raton-based FAU has been led for nearly two years by Interim President Stacy Volnick, who was selected in 2022 after then-President John Kelly announced his retirement.” PR HELP — “Who speaks for the City of Miami in times of crisis?” by WLRN’s Joshua Ceballos. “Just days after Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo was found liable for violating the First Amendment rights of two local businessmen, and was ordered to pay them $63.5 million in damages, the city turned to a public relations and communications firm to handle the intense media attention aimed at city hall. That firm — Wragg & Casas Public Relations — has kept busy ever since amid a flood of expensive lawsuits, federal investigations and multiplying media questions as numerous scandals unfold behind the walls of 3500 Pan American Drive.” — “[Former Miami City Commissioner] Alex Díaz de la Portilla under investigation for alleged witness tampering in bribery case,” by the Miami Herald’s Tess Riski. — “Tallahassee mayor says cost from May 10 tornadoes now tops $50 million as city seeks federal aid,” by The Associated Press.
| | DATELINE D.C. | | | | 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks during a meeting of the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee Field Hearing on Reproductive Freedom, Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo | TODAY — Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will be in Miami to talk about the Biden administration’s actions supporting health care for the LGBTQ+ community and at a Latino-focused event to tout measures lowering prescription drug costs. RUNNING ALLOWANCE — “Frost touts giving candidates ‘stipends’ when they run for office — new rule allows it,” by Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix. “Noting that 95 percent of congressional elections are decided by who spent the most money, [Rep. Maxwell Frost (R-Fla.)] said there is a need for campaign finance reform to level the playing field. He said his solution would be to have publicly funded elections, but he acknowledged that the public isn’t with him on that issue. The next best thing, he continued, would be to allow congressional candidates to receive stipends from the funds they raise in running for office.” LAWSUIT — “New federal lawsuit filed over police’s actions in chaotic Fort Lauderdale protest,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Susannah Bryan. “In Fort Lauderdale, tear gas permeated the air on May 31, 2020, burning the eyes of a crowd gathered to protest the police brutality that caused [George] Floyd’s death. Police, who later said protesters became violent, fired rubber bullets into the dispersing crowd. Now, four years later, attorneys have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against the city of Fort Lauderdale and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | BACKING — “Ron DeSantis endorses Tom Leek’s Senate campaign,” by Florida Politics’ Gray Rohrer. “Leek, an Ormond Beach Republican, has served in the House since 2016, including the last two years as House Appropriations Committee Chair, and is term-limited. He’s running for the Senate District 7 seat to replace Sen. Travis Hutson, a St. Augustine Republican, who is also term-limited.” POST-VERDICT — “Trump conviction likely won’t affect down-ballot Florida races, political scientists say,” by Jim Turner of News Service of Florida. “Even before the 12-member jury in New York City returned its verdict Thursday, most Florida voters were already entrenched behind their candidates. Also, district lines had been crafted so that few legislative and congressional races likely will be competitive in November.” — “Multiple Trump witnesses have received significant financial benefits from his businesses, campaign,” by Propublica’s Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski.
| | TRANSITION TIME | | — Hunter Flack is joining Floridian Partners as director of government and external affairs. He previously was senior legislative assistant for Sen. Joe Gruter, working on tax reform and environmental restoration. — Taylor Hulsey is now director of public relations at Pivot PR. He previously was comms director for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.). — Allie Owen is now national development director for LPAC. She will continue to be finance director for Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, raising money for the Florida abortion referendum.
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