Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
Ed. Note — Sunburn will take a brief hiatus and return to inboxes on Thursday morning.
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Thanks again for your support; have a great evening and please, stay safe.
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First Shot
Historically, Florida has been underrepresented in the upper echelons of the executive branch, but the incoming administration will seemingly balance the scales.
As President-elect Donald Trump gears up to return to the White House, Florida politicians have been at the top of his list for some of the highest-ranking posts outside of the presidency itself, chief among them U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who is rumored to be Trump’s pick for Secretary of State.
Another pick running through the rumor mill: Tiffany Justice for Education Secretary.
Justice is the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a Florida-grown conservative organization that rose to prominence for spearheading the book ban zeitgeist of the post-pandemic era and employing “groomer” rhetoric during debates over culture war school legislation, such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The prospect of a Secretary Justice is likely to trigger Democrats; there is little they can do outside of a filibuster to stymie the pick — when the next Congress is sworn in, the GOP will control at least 51 seats, and the Governors who will appoint Rubio’s and incoming Vice President JD Vance’s replacements are both Republicans.
Among the early arguments against Justice, the foremost is her lack of a college degree, which may be met with criticism from one or two moderate Republican Senators but is unlikely to push any into the “nay” camp.
It’s possible Justice could get yes votes from Democrats on the conservative end of the party spectrum, such as Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who has already committed to upvoting Rubio for Secretary of State.
Before the election, Justice said she would be “honored to serve” as Education Secretary.
“I think there’s a cultural revolution happening in America, and I think our schools are being used as one of the major battlefields. And so, I’m willing to serve in the next administration; however, I need to because we have got a country to save,” she told media in September in what some onlookers wrote off as a test balloon.
The timeline for when Trump will announce his pick for Education Secretary is unknown, and his campaign pledge to outright shutter the U.S. Department of Education contributes to the lack of clarity.
If the first Trump administration offers any insight, the pick could be among the President-elect’s first — former Secretary Betsy DeVos was an early Trump appointee (and a similarly controversial one) and was confirmed to the post about two weeks after Trump’s inauguration.
Evening Reads
—“Marco Rubio, likely next Secretary of State, is a foreign-policy hard-liner. His Florida roots shape his views.” via Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
—“Why Rubio’s selection as Secretary of State spells trouble for Venezuela and Maduro” via Antonio Maria Delgado of the Miami Herald
—”Donald Trump’s picks shuffle the deck of Florida politics” via Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout of POLITICO
—”The new (and familiar) faces staffing the second Trump administration” via Li Zhou of Vox
—”Michael Wolff on Trump 2.0: ‘He won’t listen to anybody’” via Maer Roshan of The Hollywood Reporter
—”Katie Britt pitches Lara Trump to fill Rubio’s Florida Senate seat” via Stef W. Kight of Axios
—”Rick Scott vying for Senate leadership role, but gun rights advocates oppose his bid” via Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel
—“15 charts that tell the story of the 2024 Election” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—”Ron DeSantis, Trump, state lawmakers: What’s next for marijuana in Florida?” via Douglas Soule of the Tallahassee Democrat
—”After Tampa Bay’s two hurricanes, uncertainty, trauma and one lost cat” via Emily L. Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times
Quote of the Day
“It’s a scary time, and when you look at it you want someone like Marco.”
— Former state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, on U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s likely ascent to Secretary of State.
Put it on the Tab
Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
With Rory Diamond considering a run for CD 6, it might be wise for him to learn about The 16 Best Cocktails in D.C.
Help Jax Mayor Donna Deegan adjust to the reality of a Republican-controlled Washington by having the bartender mix up a Bad Bet.
Florida once again set a new tourism record last quarter. Celebrate the hot streak by snagging a Bocce Ball or one of these lesser-known Orange Juice Cocktails for the next out-of-towner who walks up to the bar … with Florida OJ, of course.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
UCF hosts FAU in intrastate hoops matchup
UCF hosts FAU in a meeting of unbeaten men’s basketball teams tonight (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
It is the first time the two schools will meet in men’s basketball since 2018.
The Knights (2-0) opened the season with wins over then-13th-ranked Texas A&M and Purdue Fort Wayne. Both games were played in Orlando at Additional Financial Arena.
Three Knights have led the way through two games. Jordan Ivy-Curry leads UCF with 17 points per game while Darius Johnson has added 15.5 points per game. Keyshawn Hall scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high 7.5 rebounds per contest.
FAU (2-0) opened the season with a win over Indiana State in Xenia, Ohio, and followed up with a 50-point win over Coastal Georgia at home. Through two games under new head coach John Jakus, the Owls have outscored the opposition by an average of 41.5 points per game.
FAU has featured a balanced scoring attack with seven players averaging in double figures through two games. Ken Evans Jr. leads the Owls averaging 14 points per game with Kalen Glenn, Niccolo Moretti, KyKy Tandy, Tre Carroll, Matas Vokietaitis and Leland Walker all averaging 10 points or more. Baba Miller averages eight points per game and leads the Owls in rebounding (9.0 per game).
UCF figures to present the toughest test of the season so far for FAU. The Knights were picked 11th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 in the preseason.
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
