| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | Presented by |  | | | |  Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Aug. 8, 2024. | Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Gov. RON DESANTIS got almost everything he fought for in Florida during the 2024 election. But one key candidate escaped his grasp: Democrat MONIQUE WORRELL. The fanfare around her swearing-in as Orange-Osceola County state attorney kicks off today. Here’s the backstory. DeSantis suspended Worrell from that job in 2023, and Democrats are worried he’ll do it again. Despite the suspension, Worrell just got reelected easily in November — defeating ANDREW BAIN, a no-party affiliated candidate who DeSantis had installed in her place. DeSantis suspended Worrell while he was in the middle of a losing battle against DONALD TRUMP for the Republican presidential nomination, and Democrats widely panned it as a bid to gin up publicity. But DeSantis insisted she was soft on crime in a way that threatened public safety. She was the second Democratic state attorney suspended by DeSantis, after previously booting Hillsborough County’s Andrew Warren, who lost his bid to return to office in November. DeSantis has recently dodged questions about whether he’ll suspend Worrell again, and his office didn’t respond to an inquiry about it. But Democrats are bracing for the possibility. Complicating the situation is that Worrell appears to be “the target of a [grand jury] investigation whose origins are not entirely clear,” Greg Fox of WESH 2 News reported — and Democrats are crying foul. “It reeks of political retribution,” state Sen. CARLOS GUILLERMO SMITH (D-Orlando) told Playbook, adding that he was “very concerned” DeSantis might reinstall Bain. A spokesperson for the Polk County Courthouse where Worrell was spotted declined to comment when reached Monday — which isn’t surprising given that these investigations are conducted in secret to protect those involved. But if a grand jury finds there’s enough evidence to indict Worrell, then Florida law explicitly gives the governor the power to suspend any state official under such circumstances. (And a decision could still come at a later date, even if Worrell does take office this week.) Worrell sent out a release over the weekend saying she intended to take office, but hasn’t addressed questions about the grand jury. “Despite every effort to block our path, I am ready to serve,” she said in a statement. “I am ready to fight for justice and fairness.” A spokesperson for Worrell also didn’t respond to POLITICO’s inquiries about the apparent investigation last week. Notably, the state attorney’s website was down for maintenance last night and this morning. A spokesperson from the Orange-Osceola County state attorney’s office replied, “as far as I know,” when asked whether Monday was Bain’s last day. When News 6 caught up with him on Monday, he seemed to suggest the transition was fine. Bain had previously floated the possibility that he might not help Worrell with the transition, but then backpedaled, POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reported at the time. Worrell’s election was one bright spot for Florida Democrats who otherwise got crushed just about everywhere else. Orange County, which is home to Orlando, is a Democratic stronghold. But Trump slightly edged out Vice President KAMALA HARRIS in Osceola County. “There was a complete repudiation from voters,” said SAMUEL VILCHEZ SANTIAGO, who chairs the Orange County Democrats. “In an election that was not great for Democrats across the state ... she was able to be supported by Trump voters.” Worrell’s official proceedings start today with a “solidarity walk” in front of the state attorney’s office in downtown Orlando’s Orange County Courthouse, where she’ll read the oath and take questions from reporters. (Watch live.) She’ll then formally take the oath of office with other officers during a ceremony on Wednesday afternoon at Jones High School. WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis will speak at the investiture ceremony for Hillsborough County state attorney Suzy Lopez at 10:50 a.m. in Tampa. Lopez was the GOP candidate who defeated Warren in the 2024 election. 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.
| | A message from Alibaba: U.S. businesses are succeeding globally by expanding sales to over one billion consumers through Alibaba’s online marketplace. Alibaba helps American companies do business abroad, generating more jobs and wages back home. In just one year, sales from U.S. businesses contributed billions of dollars to the U.S. GDP and supported hundreds of thousands of jobs. Learn how Alibaba helps drive global success for U.S. businesses. | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | NEXT WEEK — The late former Florida Gov. BUDDY MACKAY will be honored with a celebration of life on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 1 p.m. at Fort King Presbyterian Church in Ocala. EDUCATION TRANSFORMATION — First it was New College of Florida, now it’s University of West Florida. In one sweeping move, DeSantis appointed five new trustees at UWF meant to “refocus” the university as the state, under its GOP leadership, continues to rail against “wokeness” in higher education. The trustees picked by DeSantis have ties to conservative think tanks including the Heritage Foundation and Claremont Institute, and even the first Trump administration’s Education Department. One appointee, ADAM KISSEL, is a visiting fellow on higher education reform for The Heritage Foundation — a position taken after a stint serving as the Education Department's deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs until 2018. Kissel previously worked for the Charles Koch Foundation and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a free speech group. DeSantis is also appointing SCOTT YENOR, a professor of political science at Boise State University who has praised recent reforms by the governor. The DeSantis administration noted that Yenor, who is a Claremont Institute scholar, researches “feminism, sexual liberation, and on dismantling the rule of social justice in America’s universities.” Yenor in 2021 faced criticism for labeling career-oriented women as “more medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome than women need to be.” “Bringing in these new board members will break the status quo and help refocus [UWF] on the core mission of education,” DeSantis’s office said in a statement to National Review. — Andrew Atterbury FROM A MONDAY HEARING — “Environmentalists urge DEP to strengthen springs rules,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. “Environmentalists at a public hearing on Monday criticized proposed state rules to protect springs from groundwater overpumping, saying the proposal is long overdue and too vague to actually protect the state’s waters. … Pumping for new developments and water bottling already is reducing springs flows, speakers said at the hearing in Tallahassee.” GONE — “Civilian police oversight in Florida crumbles after 2024 law kicks in,” reports Matthew Cupelli of Fresh Take Florida. “The law assures that only law enforcement agencies will investigate reports of misconduct by law enforcement officers. It blocks outside civilian review boards from performing oversight in such investigations, moves civilian panels under the control of Florida police chiefs and sheriffs, and requires that at least one panelist must be a retired law enforcement officer.” WORKAROUND — Douglas Soule of USA Today Network-Florida noticed that Floridians are using VPNs to access porn websites and get around the state’s recent age verification rules that have caused some sites to just stop working in Florida.
| | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | ‘NO LONGER … VIABLE’ — “Major Florida grower to exit citrus business,” reports Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida. “Pointing to Florida’s decades-long fight with deadly citrus greening disease and damage from hurricanes, a major grower Monday announced it will ‘wind down’ citrus operations and focus on more-profitable uses of its land. Fort Myers-based Alico Inc. said it will not spend additional money on citrus operations after the current crop is harvested.” ... Startling statistics: “At its peak, Florida produced 244 million boxes of oranges during the 1997-1998 season, according to Florida Citrus Mutual. During the 2023-2024 season, it produced 17.96 million boxes of oranges — and is forecast to produce 12 million boxes this season after Hurricane Milton barreled through groves.” — “Feds drop long-running straw man campaign case against former U.S. Rep. David Rivera,” reports Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald. — [Tampa Bay] “Rays now want Tropicana Field repairs in time for 2026 opening day,” reports Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times.
| | | | A message from Alibaba:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FDP CHAIR RACE — “‘We’re not Lawton Chiles’ party anymore’: Audrey Gibson makes case for FDP Chair run,” by A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics. “Among the issues Gibson articulated were that the state party has embraced a ‘cookie cutter,’ generic message that is ignorant of the cultural diversity of the state and doesn’t speak to core voters, in contrast to Trump. And she argues that authenticity gap has hurt Democrats, even among voters who don’t agree with the incoming administration’s agenda.”
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | | 
Incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles watches as then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 15, 2024. | Andrew Harnik/AP | WEST WING CHIEF — Incoming White House chief of staff SUSIE WILES did an interview with one of Axios’ newest reporters — and Florida Playbook alum — Marc Caputo. "The West Wing staff is a mix of new and veterans — many are young, all are prepared to work punishing hours," Wiles told Axios. "To my core, I believe in teamwork. Anyone who cannot be counted on to be collaborative, and focused on our shared goals, isn't working in the West Wing." — On how Florida is super-represented in the Trump administration, Wiles said, "We would not have it any other way!" MOODY ABOUT IT — Trump was disappointed when LARA TRUMP told him she didn’t want to be in the running for Senate anymore, reports the Daily Mail’s Katelyn Caralle. “The only person that Donald Trump wanted to see there was probably me,” she said when the Daily Mail asked who Trump would want to see in the role. CONFIRMATION STATION — Incoming Senate Judiciary Chair CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) said on Monday he hopes to schedule attorney general pick PAM BONDI’s confirmation hearing for Jan. 14, POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs, Meredith Lee Hill and Nico Portuondo report. He expects her to be voted out of committee one week later. — Bondi got support in a letter signed by 110 former Justice Department officials who worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations, per a letter to Fox News.
| | DATELINE D.C. | | WHITE HOUSE VISITOR — Venezuelan “opposition leader Edmundo González met with President [Joe] Biden on Monday at the White House to ask for the United States’ support ahead of his announced plans to travel to Venezuela this week to be sworn as the South American country’s next president, despite the plans of dictator Nicolás Maduro to do the same,” reports the Miami Herald’s Antonio Maria Delgado. “It is not yet known if Gonzalez will be able to meet with Trump or with his nominated secretary of state, Marco Rubio.” BOOST IN FLORIDA — Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law over the weekend, which increases payments to some seniors like retired firefighters and teachers who’d been getting public pensions by as much as $360 a month, reports Samantha Neely of USA Today Network-Florida. TRUMP VOWED TO OVERTURN — “Biden bans future oil and natural gas drilling off Florida's coast,” by Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network-Florida. “It's not clear … what effect this will have on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's decision to allow a permit for an exploratory oil well along the Apalachicola River, which has been heavily criticized by drilling opponents and lawmakers.” DEADLINE TODAY — Florida residents and businesses have until today to apply for federal loans from the Small Business Administration that will help them pay to repair damage caused by hurricanes.
| | A message from Alibaba: Alibaba’s e-commerce marketplace is having a positive impact on Florida businesses. In fact, Fernando Tamez, CEO of FL-based DS Laboratories says “sales on Alibaba exceeded expectations by 50% in the first year,” and added that Alibaba guided DS Laboratories through every step in the process as they prepared to enter the global market.
DS Laboratories is now hiring more employees at its headquarters in Miami, Florida, to keep up with the growing global demand for its hair and skin care products. In just one year, it is estimated that sales on Alibaba by Florida businesses contributed millions to the state’s GDP and supported thousands of local jobs.
Learn how Florida businesses are achieving global success with Alibaba. | | | | | TRANSITION TIME | | — MARKENZY LAPOINTE, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, announced he’s resigning at the end of the day on Jan. 17. Lapointe is the first Haitian-born American lawyer to serve as a U.S. attorney. — CHARLES DAHAN is now legislative assistant for financial services in Rep. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS' office. He was a financial services policy fellow for Rep. FRENCH HILL (R-Ark.) and taught in the political science department at the University of Florida with Haridopolos. — Conservative activist LAURA LOOMER is joining the advisory board of the video-sharing platform BitChute.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — A 1,400-pound great white shark is swimming off Jacksonville’s coast, reports USA Today Network-Florida. — The Daily Mail did one of Lara Trump’s workouts from Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. BIRTHDAYS: Diane Roberts, author, columnist and professor at Florida State University ... Chris Spencer, executive director of the state Board of Administration … former University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft ... DeeDee Rasmussen, chapter president/CEO of ABC North Florida ... Mark Lane, metro columnist for The Daytona Beach News-Journal. | | | | 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 | | | | |
