| | | | | |  | | By David Kihara | Good Friday morning. Gov. Ron DeSantis has hit a bump in the road. The Florida Senate broke with DeSantis on Thursday, overwhelmingly approving its draft congressional map on a 31-4 vote despite the governor's push just days earlier for his own redistricting proposal. The Senate's plan would create 16 congressional districts former President Donald Trump would have won in 2020, while DeSantis' draft map has 18 Trump-won seats. The popular Republican governor has exerted his enormous political influence over the GOP-led Legislature, including during November's special session, where he pressed lawmakers to approve bans on Covid-19 vaccine mandates. He's using the 2022 session to push for more of his top priorities ahead of his 2022 reelection bid, including railing against "wokeness" in schools and cracking down on election-related crimes. Florida's House still needs to approve its maps, and some of the lower chamber's proposals are more closely aligned with the governor's. But the Senate's move is still notable for its independence — and its bipartisanship. "I want to thank you for a wonderful product, this is a great way to end the redistricting process," Jacksonville Democrat Audrey Gibson said to Sen. Ray Rodrigues (R-Estero) the Senate's redistricting chair, according to POLITICO's Matt Dixon. The Senate's vote came after DeSantis also had a public spat with Trump, who last week leveled an attack on politicians who don't disclose whether they've gotten Covid booster shots. He didn't namecheck the governor, but it's clear DeSantis was one of the "gutless" politicians. To tamp down the brewing conflict, Trump this week told reporters he continues to have a very good relationship with DeSantis, while also taking credit for the governor's 2018 win. "I helped him beat their so-called star the Democrats' star who turned out not to be much of a star," Trump said Wednesday on a call to promote his book, reports the New Yor Post's Juliegrace Brufke . "But no, I have a very good relationship with him, and we've had that for a long time. I was very supportive of him and I continue to be — no, I think he's good, I think he's very good." I'm David Kihara, an editor at POLITICO, who is filling in for Gary Fineout while he recovers from Covid. — WHERE'S RON? — Gov. DeSantis is scheduled to hold a press conference in Sarasota at 8:15 a.m. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com | | | | JOIN NEXT FRIDAY TO HEAR FROM GOVERNORS ACROSS AMERICA : As we head into the third year of the pandemic, state governors are taking varying approaches to public health measures including vaccine and mask mandates. "The Fifty: America's Governors" is a series of live conversations featuring various governors on the unique challenges they face as they take the lead and command the national spotlight in historic ways. Learn what is working and what is not from the governors on the front lines, REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
|  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | MAP FIGHT — "Florida GOP-led Senate sets up clash with DeSantis over congressional maps," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: " The Florida Senate overwhelmingly passed its draft congressional map Thursday, a move that sets the Republican-led chamber up with a rare clash with Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Senate approved a plan that gives Republicans 16 seats former President Donald Trump would have won in 2020, while the governor proposes a map with 18 Trump seats. The Senate is largely unified across party lines behind its version of the map. The GOP-led Florida Legislature rarely breaks with the DeSantis, making the Senate's move on Thursday an unusual split over a key issue ahead of the 2022 midterms." 'NOT TOO FOND' — "Black lawmakers hammer Ileana Garcia over 'deeply hurtful' race comments," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Some Black members of the Florida Senate have soured on Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia after she said during a TV interview that people should "move on" from experiences with racism — comments that came days after she quietly clashed with a veteran Black senator after an otherwise mundane committee meeting. Garcia delivered her comments during a Sunday interview with CBS Miami's Jim DeFede, who asked Garcia about a proposal championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to crack down on critical race theory. "The Black caucus is definitely not too fond of Sen. Garcia's comments," said state Sen. Shev Jones, a Black Miami Democrat. CLASSROOM CONFLICTS — "Florida House Republicans try to limit gender or sexual orientation discussions in the classroom," by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury: Republicans in the Florida House advanced a bill Thursday that would restrict discussions surrounding sexual orientation or gender identity in local schools, drawing a rebuke from an LGBTQ group that labeled the proposal the "Don't Say Gay" bill. This legislation, along with another proposal to install more oversight over classroom content like library books, was backed by the GOP majority in the House's top education committee and fits directly into the agenda of Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Republicans who have prioritized giving parents more power in education. DARK MONEY — "How much darker can political money get? New GOP bill tries to further shield donors," by Ana Ceballos and Samantha J. Gross: "Florida Republicans are pushing legislation that would enact broad new layers of secrecy around nonprofit organizations' corporate and individual donors, a move that would allow some political groups to shield sources of funding from local and state government scrutiny. There are two versions of the so-called 'Personal Privacy Protection Act' in the Florida Legislature, and records and interviews show the bill language was provided by a lobbyist who says he was working on behalf of two nonprofit organizations whose tax-exempt status allows them to engage in a restricted level of political activity and does not require them to disclose their donors." | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | THE RACE TO WATCH — The battle for Florida's 13th Congressional District — now held by Democrat Charlie Crist — continues to be one of the top congressional race in Florida for the 2022 campaign season. Despite former President Donald Trump already endorsing Anna Paulina Luna, a fourth Republican on Wednesday announced his candidacy. Kevin Hayslett, an attorney and former prosecutor, jumped into the race and came in with a big endorsement of his own: Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. He is also calling himself a "Trump Republican" despite Luna. This same race also has as a competitive Democratic primary featuring state Rep. Ben Diamond, state Rep. Michelle Rayner-Goolsby and former Obama administration official Eric Lynn. — Gary Fineout SENATE RACE — " Voting rights bill's failure in Senate highlights contrast between Rubio and Demings," by Miami Herald's Bryan Lowry and Bianca Padro Ocasio: "President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats' push for national voting rights legislation ended with a thud this week in the Senate, but for Florida's Val Demings and Marco Rubio the standoff offered an opportunity to draw sharp policy contrasts as their Senate race heats up. Demings, an Orlando Democrat mounting a campaign for the U.S. Senate after three terms in the U.S. House, repeatedly called on the Senate to pass the House-approved legislation that would expand mail voting nationwide, make Election Day a holiday and give the federal government increased tools to counteract state-level restrictions. Instead, the Senate deadlocked 50-50 on the legislation, putting it 10 votes short of the chamber's 60-vote threshold for most bills, after every Republican voted against it, including both of Florida's senators, Sen. Rick Scott and Rubio, the incumbent whom Demings is challenging." | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | |
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | DRIP DRIP DRIP — "Georgia prosecutor requests special grand jury for Trump probe," by Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Tamar Hallerman: "Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is requesting a special grand jury to aid in her investigation of former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. In a Thursday letter to Christopher S. Brasher, chief judge of Fulton County's Superior Court, Willis said the move was needed because a 'significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony.' She cited comments Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger made during an October 2021 interview with NBC News in which he said 'if she wants to interview me, there's a process for that.'" INNER CIRCLE — "Jan. 6 panel will target Ivanka Trump for questioning," by POLITICO's Nicholas Wu, Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney: Jan. 6 investigators revealed Thursday they're going after Ivanka Trump, who senior White House aides viewed as a last-ditch resort to convince Donald Trump to address rioters during the Capitol attack, according to evidence and testimony released Thursday. "He didn't say yes to Mark Meadows, Kayleigh McEnanay or Keith Kellogg, but he might say yes to his daughter?" a committee investigator asked of Kellogg, a top Trump White House official, during a recent interview, according to a testimony transcript published by the panel. "Exactly right," Kellogg replied, according to a transcript of the exchange.
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | MORE SCRUTINY — "State opens investigation into dark-money group key to 'ghost' candidate scandal," by Orlando Sentinel's Jason Garcia and Annie Martin: "A state agency that regulates charities has opened an investigation into a dark-money nonprofit that played a key role in Florida's "ghost" candidate scandal. Nikki Fried, the commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, said her department is probing whether the organization, known as 'Let's Preserve the American Dream,' has fully complied with state laws governing nonprofits that solicit funding in Florida." MYSTERY NOT SOLVED — " Lawmakers skewer interim CIA report on Havana Syndrome," by POLITICO's Andrew Desiderio: Top senators are downplaying and criticizing a new interim CIA assessment on the mysterious illness known as Havana Syndrome, the latest salvo in a years-long battle for transparency between Capitol Hill and the intelligence agencies. The interim report, detailed to POLITICO on Wednesday by three intelligence officials, assesses that the health incidents aren't the result of a sustained global campaign by a U.S. foe to harm hundreds of American diplomats posted overseas. But it did not rule out the possibility that a foreign actor or sophisticated weapon is behind the phenomenon in a smaller number of cases that remain unresolved. Senators from both parties questioned the interim assessment's timing and inconclusive nature, along with the fact that the report was not coordinated with other intelligence agencies ahead of its release. Others noted that it appeared to contradict previous information shared with the congressional intelligence committees, which pointed toward the use of a directed-energy weapon as the source. REDISTRICTING WARS — "GOP considers more ruthless redistricting," by POLITICO's Ally Mutnick: Republicans have mostly played it safe in the states that have completed redistricting so far, locking in the status quo with durable maps that are more likely to withstand demographic changes and legal muster. But amid a growing sense of frustration that the party is squandering its advantage, some in the GOP are advocating for a new level of ruthlessness. It's a stance driven by a desire to appease an activist base, bolster ambitious politicians and gain retribution against audacious Democratic gerrymandering in blue strongholds. ABORTION — " Supreme Court denies abortion providers' request to return Texas case to judge who blocked state's six-week ban," by Washington Post's Robert Barnes: "The Supreme Court denied a request from abortion providers Thursday to send Texas's restrictive abortion law back to a district judge who had once stopped it, and dissenting liberal justices said the court was complicit in allowing an 'unconstitutional chill on abortion care.' The court's one-sentence order denying the request was the latest legal maneuver on the law called S.B. 8, which bans abortions in the state at about six weeks of pregnancy and sets up an enforcement for private individuals, rather than state officials. It has bitterly divided the Supreme Court." | | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | The daily rundown — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were 46,092 Covid-19 infections reported on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 11,575 hospital beds were being used in the state for Covid-19 patients. DIRTY TEST — " Area wastewater treatment plants show omicron dominant but retreating," by Orlando Sentinel's Stephen Hudak and Caroline Catherman: "Wastewater samples, drawn from Orange County's three treatment facilities and from the Altamonte Springs sewer-service area, showed decreased concentrations of COVID-19 viral fragments in testing this week, continuing a nearly 14-day, hopeful trend that suggests the worst of the omicron-variant infection surge may have passed. 'For the past week and a half, we have seen concentrations go down significantly,' said Ed Torres, director of Orange County Utilities." | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | BAD TRIP — "London-Bound American Airlines Flight Returned To Miami After Couple Refused To Wear Masks" by CBS Miami: "An American Airlines London-bound flight from Miami was forced to turn around Wednesday night after a couple refused to wear their masks. Flight 38 was about an hour and a half into its flight to Heathrow Airport when it circled back and returned to Miami International Airport. Publicly, American Airlines is only saying the flight returned '…due to a disruptive customer refusing to comply with the federal mask requirement.'" WEEKEND WEDDING — Molly Baltimore , a former judicial law clerk in the Eastern District of New York and returning litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, and Evan Maass, a restructuring attorney at Milbank LLP and a Bloomberg LP alum, got married Saturday at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. The couple are both alums of Northwestern University. Pic ... Another pic BIRTHDAYS: Former Florida Senate President Tom Lee … Jon Costello, president at Capitol Strategy Group ... Will Holley, partner Firehouse Strategies … (Saturday) Former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz … Jeffrey Sharkey, owner/managing partner at Capitol Alliance Group … Tim Center, chief executive officer Capital Area Community Action Agency … Georgia McKeown … Brian Kupfer
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