Last Call for 12.2.24 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

On Thanksgiving weekend, another Floridian picked up a high-level appointment with Donald Trump.

The President-elect announced on Saturday that Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister will head the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“As DEA Administrator, Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl and other Illegal Drugs across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES,” Trump promised on Truth Social.

On Monday, Chronister received a public show of support from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who praised the Sheriff’s work to keep former State Attorney Andrew Warren out of office.

“When we removed Soros-backed prosecutor Andrew Warren from office, nobody supported us more strongly than Sheriff Chad Chronister,” DeSantis said on X. “When the deposed Soros prosecutor ran to reclaim the office this year, Sheriff Chronister led the opposition to that candidacy and helped ensure the election of tough-on-crime prosecutor Suzy Lopez.” 

The Chronister pick also earned praise from some top Tampa Bay Democrats, including Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

But Chronister is facing pushback from a handful of out-of-state Republicans, notably U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Chip Roy of Texas — prominent DeSantis supporters in the early stretch of the 2024 Republican primary.

“I’m going to call ‘em like I see ‘em. Trump’s nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest of a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns,” Massie said, referring to the 2020 arrest of The River at Tampa Bay Church pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, who was cited for breaching social distancing protocols early in the pandemic.

Evening Reads

—”Donald Trump wants to shake up health care. Many Americans don’t mind.” via Jack Healy, Isabelle Taft and Kate Selig of The New York Times

—”Trump’s health nominees want COVID vindication. Here’s how their critique has aged.” via Erin Schumaker, Juan Perez Jr., Chelsea Cirruzzo and Ben Leonard of POLITICO

—“The expert class is failing, and so is Joe Biden’s presidency” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin

—“Biden pardons his son Hunter despite saying he wouldn’t” via Ryan Bort of Rolling Stone

—”Biden’s broken promise on pardoning his son Hunter is raising new questions about his legacy” via Colleen Long and Zeke Miller of The Associated Press

—“Biden’s unpardonable hypocrisy” via Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic

—“A look at recent pardons granted to family” via Niha Masih of The Washington Post

—”Elon Musk’s rivals fear he will target them with his new power” via Keach Hagey, Emily Glazer and Dana Mattioli of The Wall Street Journal

—”Chad Chronister’s nomination to head DEA raises hackles for some conservatives” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix

—”The uncomfortable question about ‘Latino’ voters” via Christian Paz of Vox

Quote of the Day

“It is crucial for us to engage in this conversation, as our constituents deserve to know that their government is taking their concerns seriously and is committed to responsible oversight.”

— Sen. Ileana Garcia, on her bill tied to the decades-old, debunked chemtrails conspiracy theory.

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.

A politician who says one thing and does another? Could you imagine? Sarcasm aside, Joe Biden gets a Flip Flop Madras for reversing on his pledge not to pardon his son.

Lara Trump gets a Landslide after a recent poll found 7 out of 10 Republicans support her as Marco Rubio’s replacement in the U.S. Senate. One caveat, though: The poll didn’t sample any Florida Republicans.

Pour an Onward & Upward for Marc Caputo, who is set to join Axios as a senior political reporter in January. We’re not sure where Brendan Farrington is landing, but go ahead and snag him one, too.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Heat travel to Boston to face Celtics

The Miami Heat face the Boston Celtics tonight in a matchup of two top teams in the Eastern Conference (7:30 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Network-Sun).

Miami (9-9) is sixth in the Eastern Conference and second in the Southeast Division after winning four of its last six games. Miami split a home-and-home with Toronto, winning on Friday at the Kaseya Center in the Emirates NBA Cup and losing to the Raptors in Canada in a regular-season game.

Tyler Herro leads the Heat in scoring, averaging 24 points per game. Jimmy Butler scored 26 in the win over Toronto but was held to 17 in the loss to the Raptors. 

Boston (16-4) leads the Atlantic Division and trails only the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference standings. The Cavs beat the Celtics on Sunday 115-111 behind 35 points from Donovan Mitchell, who outscored Boston star Jayson Tatum (33 points). 

Tatum averages 29 points per game, fifth-best in the NBA, and the Celtics average 120.7 points per game, the third-highest-scoring team in the league. 

The Heat are among the league’s best defensive teams, averaging 9.3 steals per game, fifth in the NBA.

___

Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.