Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
As the Legislative Session promises to go into overtime over Senate and House differences on budget toplines, Gov. Ron DeSantis says the House is largely to blame.
The Governor spoke for over 10 minutes in response to a reporter’s question in Fruitland Park. DeSantis voiced his grievances with the legislative body at great length, saying their irritation with him, coupled with leadership’s “personal agendas,” has made them ineffective.
“I think the House’s position has been, ‘Well, you know, the Governor has gotten everything he wants, so whatever he’s for, we’re against.’ And that’s why they’ve been running themselves ragged with this really dysfunctional and unsuccessful House of Representatives this Legislative Session,” DeSantis said.
“Regardless of what happens the next couple days, this will go down as the least productive Florida House of Representatives in decades.”
Indeed, the dysfunction over the budget is unparalleled in recent memory, with budget Chairs not even advancing top-line offers.
That conflict is extending to ancillary issues, such as a Senate proposal to name a substance abuse center after Sen. Darryl Rouson, which the House rejected. Additionally, House changes to the “Rural Renaissance” bill, prioritized by Senate President Ben Albritton, also met with disfavor in the Senate.
Budget chief Ed Hooper added that “maybe this will be some indication why on day 58 of this Session, we don’t have a budget agreement.”
“This is what we deal with. We will make it right, or else,” he said. “This is too petty for me to tolerate.”
Read more on Florida Politics.
Evening Reads
—”Behind Donald Trump’s deal to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador’s most feared prison” via Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Hamed Aleaziz, Alan Feuer, Devlin Barrett, Julie Turkewitz, Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Annie Correal of The New York Times
—”Trump’s big admission about the Kilmar Abrego García deportation case” via Aaron Blake of The Washington Post
—”Trump is losing” via Zack Beauchamp of Vox
—“Something alarming is happening to the job market” via Derek Thompson of The Atlantic
—”U.S. economy shrank in first quarter as imports surged ahead of tariffs” via Harriet Torry of The Wall Street Journal
—”Senate rejects House’s blending of unrelated attorneys’ fees, phosphate disclosure bills” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
—”Florida begins first prosecutions under controversial ‘Halo Law’” via Aidan Bush of Fresh Take Florida
—“Senate sends amended condo safety package with reserve funding considerations back to House” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
—”Michelle Salzman says hemp regulation is dead — but it needs to be revived, like right now” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics
—“Don’t roll back relief that Florida truckers, consumers are finally seeing” via Alix Miller for Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“I’m just really glad that in a year and a half, we’re going to have another Speaker.”
— Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, after the House refused to name an addiction research center at USF after Sen. Darryl Rouson.
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.
Serve former Rep. Travaris McCurdy and former legislative aide RaShon Young some Ready Set Gos as they barrel toward a showdown in the Special Election for HD 40.
Hopefully, candidates won’t turn to Liquid Babysitters in response to lawmakers nixing a bill that would have allowed campaign cash to be spent on childcare.
Order a High Five for the crew at Jacksonville’s FIVE on Park Street, which is one signature away from being able to sell booze on premises.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Panthers, Lightning face off in playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning tries to keep the season alive as they host the Florida Panthers tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The Panthers took the first two games of the series in Tampa before the two Florida rivals split a pair in Miami. While the Lightning finished the regular season four points ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champions, Tampa Bay is one loss away from the end of the season.
Florida will be shorthanded for the next two games. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad was suspended for a “high, forceful elbow” to the head of Tampa’s Brandon Hagel during Monday night’s game four.
Last year, the two teams met in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, with Florida winning four games to one en route to the club’s first Stanley Cup championship.
Thus far in the series, Florida has seen offensive contributions from several players, including a quartet with four points each through four games. Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, and Matthew Tkachuk each have averaged a point per game in the series.
No Tampa Bay player has scored more than two goals in the series. Center Jake Guentzel has been the most impactful player for the Lightning, scoring a pair of goals and assisting on three others.
The series has seen three games with the winning team scoring at least four goals, including Monday’s 4-2 Florida victory.
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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.
