Staff Reports
Ed. Note — Sunburn will be taking off tomorrow, and maybe Thursday (depending on how much Christmas magic we have left to spread). Don’t worry, the hottest tip sheet in Florida politics will be back Monday.
From all of us at Florida Politics, have a Merry Christmas 🎄🎄, enjoy the holiday season and — stay safe, please.
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Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott was one of just six Senators to vote against the combined $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and $900 billion coronavirus relief package passed by Congress, and the controversial decision earned him praise from Americans for Prosperity-Florida.
Scott said he voted against the bill over its size and the lack of time lawmakers had to look it over — both affirmed to the Republican Senator that “Washington is broken.”
AFP-FL agrees.
“Washington’s broken budget process has been on full display recently, forcing lawmakers to vote on a 5,000-page bill with the ink not even dry. We thank Sen. Scott for rejecting this package that contains billions of dollars in spending unrelated to COVID and reads more like a Christmas wish list for special interests,” AFP-FL state director Skylar Zander said.
“Although lawmakers did not include a bailout to state governments whose finances were a mess years before COVID, combining a government funding bill with COVID relief once again shows Washington’s disdain for fiscal responsibility. Spending taxpayers’ money may be easy for politicians, but it’s not what will stop the virus and get our economy booming once again. We urge Congress to reject calls for further reckless spending in 2021.”
The so-called bailouts for state governments were a line in the sand for Scott as well, who has often referred to them as “blue state bailouts” and has urged his Republican colleagues in the Senate to vote against them.
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Here are some other items which caught our attention:
— 2020 is the deadliest year on record, thanks to COVID-19: More than 3 million people have died in the U.S. this year. Preliminary data shows U.S. deaths will likely reach 3.2 million in 2020, about 400,000 more than 2019. As of Dec. 22, COVID-19 had claimed the lives of 318,000 Americans, accounting for much of the unprecedented 15% rise in anticipated annual deaths.
— Wondering how Congress will elect the new President? Check this out: A Congressional Research Service analysis lays out, based on the most recently available information, policies and precedent, how Congress will elect the next President on Jan. 6. The 13-page document outlines the process from Election Day all the way up to Congress certifying votes and includes a detailed analysis of how the joint session should be conducted. Given expected challenges from Trump-supporting members of the U.S. House and Senate, this is a must-read for those following along.
— Millions of Christmas presents could be late due to USPS delays: The U.S. Postal Service is experiencing a number of crises threatening the timely delivery of millions of packages this Christmas season. The agency, already hobbled by budget cuts affecting its service, is facing an unprecedented amount of packages from e-commerce and is facing staff shortages due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Nearly 19,000 of the agency’s 644,000 workers have called in sick or are isolating due to the virus. The delays aren’t just affecting gift packages, they also threaten crucial items such as prescription medications.
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 1,202,660 FL residents (+10,204since Monday)
— 20,355 Non-FL residents (+230 since Monday)
Origin:
— 10,598 Travel related
— 460,700 Contact with a confirmed case
— 13,339 Both
— 718,023 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 60,471 in FL
Deaths:
— 21,052 in FL
Evening Reads
“More than 3 million people died in 2020 — the deadliest year in US history” via Mike Stobbe of The Associated Press
“51 lost lives: A portrait of the pandemic’s tragic toll in America’s nursing homes” via Debbie Cenziper, Alexa Mikhail, Cadence Quaranta, Daniel Konstantino and Alice Crites of The Washington Post
“Will Donald Trump cut short his final presidential Christmas visit to Mar-a-Lago?“ via Christine Stapleton of The Palm Beach Post
“The full(est possible) story of the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference” via Olivia Nuzzi of New York Magazine
“Joe Biden announces Bruce Reed, 5 other White House senior staff” via Megan Cassella of POLITICO
“A dinner, a deal and moonshine: How the stimulus came together” via The New York Times
“Feuds, Zoom and Italian food: How the stimulus got done” via POLITICO
“Even by Florida standards, Gov. Ron DeSantis is a COVID-19 catastrophe” via Lizette Alvarez for The Washington Post
“Residents of The Villages take COVID shots, the first doses for non-medical workers or nursing-home patients” via Michael Moline of the Florida Phoenix
“Florida adds 10K new coronavirus cases, confirms 76 deaths” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“Union leader endorsements pour in for Manny Diaz to lead Florida Democrats” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“Elderly Floridians will get vaccine before essential workers, Gov. DeSantis says” via Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times
“Judge opens the door to late-night bars at a time when COVID-19 is raging” via Lisa J. Huriash of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Couple gets credit rating back as politicians seek answers on deferred mortgage mix-up” via Trevor Fraser of the Orlando Sentinel
“Florida Man headlines aren’t all bad. Here are the best positive stories from 2020” via Grace Pateras of the Tallahassee Democrat
Quote of the Day
“The vaccines are going to be targeted where the risk is going to be greatest, and that’s in our elderly population. We are not going to put young, healthy workers ahead of our elderly, vulnerable population.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, bucking a CDC recommendation that essential workers be next in line for the vaccine.
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