| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a political roundtable, Friday, May 19, 2023, in Bedford, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) | Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo | Good morning and welcome to July. Gov. Ron DeSantis may have lost the Republican nomination for president, but he got a good deal richer in the meantime. The governor — who until two years ago had just $319,000 to his name — is now worth almost $1.8 million, according to his financial disclosure posted over the weekend. The increase in his net worth is thanks to his book, “The Courage to be Free,” that hit the bestseller list for a couple of weeks. The governor wrote the book and marketed it ahead of his failed presidential campaign as a way to promote his political philosophy and brag about his accomplishments in Florida. According to the newly posted financial documents with the Florida Commission on Ethics, DeSantis received $625,000 last year from his publisher, HarperCollins. The document doesn’t make it clear whether the payment was a second installment from an agreed-upon advance or from royalties, and his office didn’t respond to questions about it. He’d gotten a $1.25 million advance from the company in 2022, which at the time nearly quadrupled his net worth. Since last year, DeSantis’ net worth has increased by roughly $600,000. A good deal of politicians enrich themselves by moonlighting as authors. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, she got a $730,350 advance for her book. Former Vice President Mike Pence got $1.4 million for divulging the details of his time working with former President Donald Trump. The timeline for DeSantis’ finances only goes up to the required reporting period of December 31, 2023, so his situation could have changed in the last seven months. But the document shows DeSantis still does not own property or stocks (he has said, as has Trump, that members of Congress should be banned from trading stocks). He made only mild progress in paying off his student loans in the last year, with almost $17,000 still due. DeSantis’ salary as governor is $141,400, which is less than what many agency officials or even top aides make — and less than he was making when he was in Congress. Florida lawmakers tried to hike the gubernatorial salary for the next governor by $110,000, as POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reported, but that bill ultimately died in the Legislature and DeSantis put the kibosh on a smaller raise. The last time DeSantis filed a personal financial disclosure was in August 2023, because he was required to do so to run for president. In the document, he listed his earnings in broad ranges rather than use exact amounts, as federal ethics rules require, and later filed an amended document. DeSantis’ finances are much more simple than many other politicians, including those in the Legislature, who tend to have a second job and report investments, credit card debt, real estate holdings and even crypto. Today is the deadline for elected officials across the state to file their disclosures, and Playbook will report more on them in the coming days. Florida first lady Casey DeSantis’ finances are not listed in the latest report, as usual, because state ethics rules don’t require spousal disclosures. Some good government groups want to change the rules because they worry about politicians obfuscating possible conflicts of interest. Nevertheless, the financial disclosure DeSantis had to file at the federal level to run for president did have to include spousal holdings and, as it turns out, the first lady didn’t have an investment fund, nor did she receive speaking fees in the year prior. WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis is holding a press conference at 8:30 a.m. Central with Florida Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly. 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 ... | | TODAY — A slew of new education laws authorizing chaplains in public schools, teaching the history of communism and making more vouchers available are taking effect, reports the Florida Phoenix’s Jay Waagmeester. Many other laws — including vouchers for swimming lessons, requiring disclosure of artificial intelligence in political ads and allowing pharmacists to prescribe medicines for HIV prevention — also take effect, per Ana Ceballos and Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow of the Miami Herald. SITE DECIDED, BUT … “At its last meeting, Black history task force still argued over recommending a location,” by Florida Phoenix’s Jackie Llanos. “Until the very end, Democratic Sen. Geraldine Thompson of Orange County tried to stop a panel she chairs from recommending St. Johns County as the site for Florida’s Black history museum. [The task force] had 10 months to come up with a plan for the construction, operation and administration of the proposed museum but a conflict about its potential location took center stage … Ultimately, six votes outweighed Thompson’s sole vote against submitting the report officially stating that the task force recommends the state build the museum a few miles outside of downtown St. Augustine in St. Johns County.” … DESANTIS SIGNED AND VETOED A FINAL ROUND OF BILLS … — “DeSantis vetoes bill preempting local regulation of vacation rentals,” reports the Miami Herald’s Alexandra Glorioso. — “DeSantis approves new requirements for out-of-state licensee applicants that worry Board of Medicine members,” by Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton. — “DeSantis signs law upping rate caps on loans while cracking down on online loan sharks,” by Florida Politics’ Jacob Ogles. — “Legislation signed permitting disabled veterans to roll with military license plates of their choice,” by Florida Politics’ Jacob Ogles.
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | TPP EXPANDED — “Biden administration extends temporary legal status to 300,000 Haitians, drawing a contrast to Trump,” reports The Associated Press’ Elliot Spagat and Rebecca Santana. “About 300,000 Haitians already in the United States will now be eligible for temporary legal status allowing them to remain in the U.S. and work because conditions in the strife-torn Caribbean nation are considered unsafe for them to return, the Homeland Security Department said Friday. The decision marks a major expansion of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and won praise from many in the Haitian and immigration advocacy community … This expansion will apply to Haitians who were in the United States on June 3 and will last until Feb. 3, 2026.” — “Several Haitian migrants found at exclusive Florida Keys gated community, feds say,” reports David Goodhue of Florida Keys News.
| | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | | | |  TOPSHOT - A man walks past boarded up shop windows before the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Bridgetown, Barbados on June 30, 2024. | Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images | CAT 3 — “Hurricane Beryl making destructive strike on Windward Islands today,” the Weather Channel reports. “Hurricane Beryl will strike the Windward Islands today, bringing destructive winds, storm surge and flooding rainfall. Thereafter, the hurricane faces an uncertain future in the Caribbean Sea. Beryl is moving quickly westward as it approaches the Windward Islands this morning. The hurricane rapidly intensified into a Category 4 on Sunday, however its winds have decreased a bit overnight, making it a still very dangerous Category 3.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | ‘AS MANY PROCEDURAL OBSTACLES AS POSSIBLE’ — “Florida abortion-rights groups are fighting the state over every little detail before November,” by POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. “Abortion-rights groups in Florida are locked in a battle with the state over the cost for a ballot measure that would overturn the state’s six-week ban. The fight is over a seemingly obscure fiscal impact statement estimating the cost to the state for passing the proposed constitutional amendment. It highlights how both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion forces are clawing for every inch of ground ahead of a campaign that will see tens of millions of dollars spent across the country’s third-largest state. And, abortion-rights activists say, it shows how the state’s Republican leaders are trying to defeat the November ballot measure at every turn.” … PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE FALLOUT IN FLORIDA … DEMS STAY THE COURSE — Florida Democrats are largely “standing by their man” after President Joe Biden’s dismal debate performance, reports the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times’ Romy Ellenbogen, Max Greenwood and Lawrence Mower. “Some of the Florida delegates pledged to vote for Biden at the party’s convention say — publicly at least — that they have few qualms.” Democrats deflected to Trump’s falsehoods during the debate, chalked it up to one bad night or avoided answering questions about the extent of their support. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS — “Nadia Ahmad of Seminole County said she has for months raised concerns about Biden as the party’s standard-bearer in 2024, in part because of how he has handled the war in Gaza,” per the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times. “She said watching Biden is like grappling with how you feel ‘if you watch somebody driving off a cliff.’ But she said she signed up to support Biden at the convention.” And “During a livestream … Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani admitted that she would like to see Democrats nominate another candidate,” reported Daniel Molina of The Floridian. “Eskamani shared that she was ‘incredibly, incredibly disappointed’ with the debate. However, she lamented that she ‘wasn't surprised.’” She continued: “‘You have one candidate — Trump — that's just constantly lying, and no one's fact-checking him. He's just, like, on this tirade of lies. Then, you have President Biden. He is not in a position to respond quickly. He didn’t finish some of his sentences. I mean, it was really, really bad. I don’t think there’s any way to describe it,’ she added.” She said she’d vote for Biden. STAYING OUT OF IT — Meanwhile, former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Senate, hasn’t answered questions about Joe Biden, reports Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. GAMING OUT THE SCENARIOS — “What if Joe Biden drops out? Here’s what would happen in Florida.” The Tampa Bay Times’ Kirby Wilson and Christopher Spata lay out three different scenarios looking at how the timing could affect the race. But these seem unlikely because Biden and his closest advisors have made it clear he has no intention of dropping out.
| | | DATELINE D.C. | | | TODAY — The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether to strike down a key law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The court is issuing its last round of decisions Monday, including deciding if former President Donald Trump is immune from charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election. It was in the aftermath of that election DeSantis pushed a measure that would fine social media companies that “de-platform” political candidates. Several social media companies removed Trump from their platforms in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. DeSantis called the measure, which also allowed people to sue social media companies, as a way to fight back against “censorship” by big tech. An association that represents tech groups said the new law violated the First Amendments of social media companies. Two lower courts have agreed and blocked the law from taking effect. During oral arguments in February, some justices sounded skeptical about both Florida’s law and a similar law from Texas. — Gary Fineout AMICUS BRIEF — “Federal government weighs in on suit against Florida’s controversial pronouns law,” by Dara Kam of News Service of Florida. “The federal government ‘has a strong interest’ in a lawsuit challenging a controversial Florida law requiring teachers to use pronouns that align with their sex assigned at birth, according to a brief filed this week by the Biden administration. Attorneys in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the lawsuit brought by Katie Wood, a transgender Hillsborough County teacher, and AV Schwandes, a nonbinary teacher fired last year by Florida Virtual School. The teachers sought preliminary injunctions as part of a lawsuit challenging restrictions in the 2023 law.”
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A pedestrian is seen close to the U.S. Supreme Court on June 5, 2023. | Alex Wong/Getty Images | … MAJOR SUPREME COURT DECISIONS WILL AFFECT FLORIDA … — “Supreme Court ruling on homelessness leads the way for Florida public camping ban,” by Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network — Florida. The ruling will “bolster Florida's recent move to hold local municipalities accountable for their homeless populations … Florida's law will prohibit local municipalities from allowing people to camp or sleep on public property as of its Oct. 1 effective date. It will also make local governments designate a specific public space for camping and sleeping with approval from the Florida Department of Children and Families that includes security, behavioral health services and bathrooms with running water.” Read more about the decision from POLITICO’s Dustin Gardiner. — “What the Supreme Court emergency abortion ruling does (and doesn’t) mean for Florida,” reports Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times. "Florida bans most abortions after six weeks. Florida’s exceptions allow abortions later for health reasons if necessary to save a woman’s life or to ‘avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.’ That exception requires two doctors to sign off unless it’s an emergency.” Read more about the ruling from POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein, and Cindy Krischer Goodman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel has more on Florida medical regulations just announced. — “How will Supreme Court ruling on Jan. 6 impact Tampa Bay defendants?” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Dan Sullivan. “The 6-3 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts held that a federal law against obstruction of an official proceeding requires the government to prove that a defendant ‘impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding’ of records, documents or other things. The obstruction charge was one that the Department of Justice brought against many of the Jan. 6 defendants. The court’s ruling could make it more difficult for prosecutors to prove those cases.”
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