| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Mia McCarthy | SIREN — Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) resigned from Congress shortly after President-elect DONALD TRUMP tapped him to be his next attorney general. It’s not clear yet whether the MAGA provocateur will be able to get confirmed by the Senate. (More on the latest developments below.)
|  Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is questioned by reporters as he heads to the Senate Republican leadership elections as a candidate to replace longtime GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Florida is dripping all over President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s incoming administration, but hasn’t yet been able to break through congressional leadership. The House and Senate on Wednesday both rejected candidates from Florida to fill top spots in their respective chambers. The news came amid a lot of personnel announcements for Trump out of Florida, ones that are yet again shuffling the deck of the state’s political makeup. Senate Republicans passed on Florida Sen. RICK SCOTT to lead their conference, despite the MAGA wing of the party rallying around him, including ELON MUSK and other prominent figures. Scott got 13 votes in the first round and was eliminated. The vote was cast in secret, though eight senators had come forward publicly ahead of time, including Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) who stated his intention to support Scott just ahead of the meeting. The end result left Sen. JOHN THUNE of South Dakota as the leader of the chamber in a post-MITCH McCONNELL, pro-Trump era where the Republican Party has a 53-seat majority in the upper chamber. Not all are happy about the outcome. Scott-supporting Rep. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-Fla.) panned the vote as “McConnell 2.0.” Afterward, Scott said in a statement he was still “optimistic” and that his main reason for running was to “fundamentally change how the Senate operates and upend the status quo so we can actually start representing the voters who put us here.” He promised to do “everything possible” to help Thune in “accomplishing President Trump’s agenda.” Following the loss, Scott told POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy he was not interested in taking on a role in the administration. “I just won my race — that was a lot of work,” he said in a brief interview outside the Senate chamber, referring to his 13-point Senate reelection victory. “There are a lot of wonderful people going.” Things didn’t fare any better for Florida over in the House. Rep. KAT CAMMACK (R-Fla.) lost her bid for GOP conference chair, the No. 4 job that would have put her in charge of GOP messaging and of organizing meetings. A majority of GOP House members instead supported Rep. LISA McCLAIN (R-Mich.), the conference secretary who'd touted her win in the battleground state. One main issue for Cammack appears to have been that some Republicans were displeased when she backed a proposal to prohibit members from requesting earmarks, which direct government funds to specific projects in members’ districts, POLITICO’s Olivia Beavers reported. Cammack is one of two Florida Republicans opposed to earmarks and did not request any. Scott similarly told POLITICO that he doesn’t support earmarks. “I think the American public is fed up with them,” he said. The resulting tally was 146-67-1, with one vote going to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Nevertheless, Cammack expressed gratitude after the vote , saying, “It’s time to get to work!” — Kimberly Leonard and Mia McCarthy Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
| | | | The lame duck session could reshape major policies before year's end. Get Inside Congress delivered daily to follow the final sprint of dealmaking on defense funding, AI regulation and disaster aid. Subscribe now. | | | | | |  | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | SURPRISE AG — President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s selection of MATT GAETZ to be his attorney general stunned Capitol Hill and even sent shockwaves though Florida politics. An “absolute gut punch” and “a reckless pick” who has no shot at confirmation were just a couple of the reactions from Republicans in Washington told to reporters at POLITICO. “This is Trump daring the U.S. Senate,” said Matthew Bartlett, a GOP strategist and appointee in Trump’s first administration. “This is Trump potentially usurping the U.S. Senate and going to try to put people in place through recess appointments.” The Gaetz news broke just as House Republicans were waiting to start their leadership meeting, with The Hill’s Emily Brooks reporting there was an “audible gasp” when it happened. “I’m looking at a House Republican who is laughing so hard in a group of members that he’s wiping away tears,” reported POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill. Some GOP colleagues speculated to POLITICO that Gaetz resigned because the formal release of an ethics investigation into him was about to take place, though he and House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON insisted it was to help fill the vacancy as quickly as possible. It’s possible the report could still be published or leaked. One thing that’s for sure is that now Gov. RON DESANTIS has yet another special election to schedule for an open House seat, and there’s already speculation over whether his chief of staff, JAMES UTHMEIER, might want to run for it. The Florida Democratic Party called the nomination “catastrophic,” describing Gaetz as a “chaos agent who cares about nothing but his own personal power.” But the MAGA faithful were thrilled, as Gaetz has been one of Trump’s most stalwart supporters. “He is a winner,” said fellow Trump loyalist state Sen. JOE GRUTERS (R-Sarasota). “President Trump has a mandate to shake things up, and this selection will do exactly that. Matt Gaetz is intelligent, bold and loyal and he will serve the president well.” Onto business: “The next attorney general may have a first order of business that is deeply personal to Trump: ending the two federal criminal cases against him,” reports POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Erica Orden.
|  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) arrives for the Senate Republican leadership elections at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 13. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | TRUMP FINALLY MADE RUBIO OFFICIAL — News that Trump planned to nominate Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) to secretary of state leaked on Monday — but finally got officially confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. Rubio in a statement called the nomination a “tremendous responsibility” and promised to carry out Trump’s foreign policy agenda by delivering “peace through strength” and putting Americans first. He still needs to be confirmed by the Senate, but he’ll likely breeze through, with even some Democrats praising his nomination. Policy-wise, Rubio’s appointment “doubtless sent shockwaves across Havana,” is the takeaway from the Miami Herald’s Nora Gámez Torres. Bringing in Rubio as well as potentially other Cuban-Americans who’ve been floated for prominent Trump administration roles is “bringing to life the worst fear of the Cuban regime: that Cuban exiles and their descendants would be able to dictate U.S. policy toward the island.” “If confirmed, Rubio would be the first sitting secretary of state under Beijing sanctions and banned from traveling to China,” reports Lingling Wei of The Wall Street Journal. Still, the article continues: “From Beijing’s perspective, it could have been worse. People who consult with senior Chinese officials say that for now at least, Beijing is relieved that several Republicans considered particular threats by the Communist Party, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, aren’t in the mix.” There also still remains the question of who would take Rubio’s place in the Senate. Florida Attorney General ASHLEY MOODY wouldn’t say one way or another whether she’d be interested when asked about it on Fox News on Wednesday. She instead called herself “incredibly focused on this job working on behalf of Floridians.” Republican National Committee chair LARA TRUMP told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity that “if I am asked I would love to consider it” but acknowledged she had not talked to DeSantis about it. Ahead of the formal announcement, BRIAN GRIFFIN, the spokesperson for DeSantis, who’s still on his trade mission in Italy, told Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski that the governor had not made any decisions about a potential replacement for Rubio. This morning, DeSantis said he had instructed Florida Secretary of State CORD BYRD to "immediately" come up with a schedule and announcement for the special elections. Rubio also lavished praise on fellow Trump nominee Gaetz. “I’ve known Matt for a very long time, I think he’d do a great job.” He added that he thought Gaetz would be confirmed. "The president deserves great deference as a president with a mandate," Rubio said, "and he has a right to surround herself with people he trusts."
| | | | Policy change is coming—be the pro who saw it first. Access POLITICO Pro’s Issue Analysis series on what the transition means for agriculture, defense, health care, tech, and more. Strengthen your strategy. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | OBAMACARE’S FUTURE PENDING — The shape that the Affordable Care Act will take under the Trump administration is still muddled. Christopher O'Donnell of the Tampa Bay Times writes : “Significant changes to the program would have a big impact in Florida, where 4.2 million residents are enrolled this year — the most in the nation. With the 2025 enrollment period already underway, program administrators are fielding questions from Floridians fearful that their insurance will be canceled, said Xonjenese Jacobs, director of Florida Covering Kids & Families, a nonprofit based at the University of South Florida that coordinates enrollment across the state.” CLIMATE FUTURE ALSO IN FLUX — “They produce Florida’s clams. To survive climate change, they’re counting on Republicans,” by Denise Hruby of the Miami Herald . “Until recently, some 200 Cedar Key farmers produced virtually every clam consumed in Florida, pulling in 120 million mollusks a year. Clamming had allowed them to fend off over-development and retain the island’s Old Florida charm that’s become so hard to find. Hurricane Helene shattered that economic backbone. … Cedar Key’s backbone can’t just be restored as it was. It’ll need to be fortified. It can’t happen without help from the government — business loans and more disaster aid in particular … Whether they’ll receive it now hinges on the Republican party, set to lead the House and Senate, and President-elect Donald Trump.”
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | | 
Republican Rep. Daniel Perez of Miami is the incoming state House speaker. | Phil Sears/AP | NEW RULES COMING — Florida House Speaker DANNY PEREZ has proposed a slew of new rules for Tallahassee lobbyists, reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. One possible change “would allow members to fly on private planes, provided that they pay a pro-rata share of the actual cost of the flight. Existing state ethics rules allow elected officials to fly on private flights if they pay the same rate as flying commercial.” The memo included “some eye-opening new requirements, including one that would bar a wide array of former House members from coming on the House floor. Currently, only former House members who are registered lobbyists face restrictions, and can only come on the floor during ceremonial events.” “Perez also wants to toughen up disclosure requirements. The House, unlike the Senate, requires lobbyists to register the exact bill number or budget item that they are lobbying for or against. Perez said the House will institute new policies that require those disclosures to be filed prior to a meeting being scheduled with the lobbyist.” DON'T BE CALIFORNIA — A new scientific report released Wednesday says Florida, amid a warming climate, can avoid the wildfire catastrophes facing California by protecting an 18-million acre designated network of wildlife habitat. The report, funded by the nonprofit group Live Wildly, says limiting urban sprawl while protecting wild lands as well as farms and cattle ranches can buffer against numerous harms caused by climate change. Compact development patterns, along with preserved land that is actively managed to reduce wildfire risk will help, the report says. "Florida has advance notice of this likely outcome if development is not planned with fire management in mind, thus avoiding the California/U.S. West outcome, and should continue to be a high priority for Florida," the report says. The Florida Legislature designated the Florida Wildlife Corridor for protection in 2021. About 10 million acres now is protected as conservation lands, while another 8 million could still be developed. — Bruce Ritchie
| | TRANSITION TIME | | — TechNet — a national network of CEOs and senior executives from major companies including Apple, Amazon and Visa — has announced KATIE KELLY as executive director for Florida and the Southeast Region. Beginning on Dec. 2 she’ll oversee advocacy in the region and comes to TechNet from the law firm of Manson Bolves Donaldson Tanner, where she was a government affairs specialist. Her previous work includes deputy legislative affairs director and deputy chief of staff for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — Some fans want to see Cuban-American rapper Pitbull get considered to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) seat in the Senate, according to the Daily Mail. BIRTHDAY: Former Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford. | | | | 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 | | | | |
