Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Florida’s Governor is firing back as the Hope Florida Foundation funding controversy now involves a freshly launched criminal probe.
Speaking in Winter Haven, Gov. Ron DeSantis said First Lady Casey DeSantis didn’t get “one red cent” from the $10 million routed toward political advertising last year. That money came from what he called the “cherry on top” from a Medicaid settlement with provider Centene.
“You had one state Representative with a political agenda,” DeSantis said about Republican Rep. Alex Andrade. “He has a political agenda to try to smear Hope Florida, to try to smear people associated with the administration, even my wife, who’s done a great job for this state.”
Andrade’s House Health Care Budget Subcommittee probed the finances that saw the $10 million go to the Hope Florida Foundation before being routed through two political committees last year.
From there, the bulk of it was sent to another committee controlled by James Uthmeier, who was the Governor’s Chief of Staff and is now the appointed Attorney General. Uthmeier called the eight-figure bonus a “sweetener.”
“She has led an initiative to help people, and you have one jackass in the Legislature … who’s trying to smear her,” DeSantis added. “Somebody with an agenda dropped off documents, and that’s all that the custodian of record said. There is no basis to do an investigation on these facts. Everybody knows it. Everybody knows that this is political.”
The Governor wasn’t finished slamming Andrade, saying he “cast aspersions” at the Attorney General and tried “to enlist a local attorney’s office into trying to advance” Andrade’s “political agenda.”
Read more on Florida Politics.
Evening Reads
—“When Donald Trump was the one taking land from farmers” via Zolan Kanno-Youngs of The New York Times
—“The decline and fall of Elon Musk” via Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker of The Atlantic
—”Trump is still afraid of voters” via Abdallah Fayyad of Vox
—“Trump cuts are killing a tiny office that keeps measurements of the world accurate” via Molly Taft of WIRED
—”It is so embarrassing to watch Dems try to ‘find’ a liberal Joe Rogan” via Luke Winkie of SLATE
—“Defense Department accepts Boeing 747 from Qatar for Trump’s use” via The Associated Press
—“Have you been injured by the two-party system?” via Karen Cyphers of Decyphered
—“Ron DeSantis lauds GOP gains in Miami-Dade, errantly touts ‘plurality’ of voters there” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
—”‘Ignorant, prejudiced’: Arab group sues after Orlando hotel canceled cultural event following Oct. 7” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics
—”What’s the future of kids’ healthcare in Miami? FIU and Nicklaus have a plan” via Michelle Marchante of the Miami Herald
—”Remembering George Wendt: Why everybody knew Norm’s name” via Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone
Quote of the Day
“We’re not Uber Eats. But we are Jail Eats.”
— Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, dropping a pretty good dad joke on the anti-swatting bill.
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.
One of the latest bills ready to enter Florida statute aims to send a message to those who make phony reports to sic law enforcement on others: SWAT Mulligans aren’t on the menu where you’re going.
No one is claiming the red-shift in Miami-Dade is a myth, but it seems like Gov. Ron DeSantis threw back a Fuzzy Math before declaring Republicans outnumber Democrats in Florida’s most populous county.
Go ahead and order the Governor a classic Margarita as well for backing up his Surgeon General — just make sure they use non-iodized salt on the rim … it’s would be “malpractice” to deny goiter the chance at a comeback.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Gators staying alive
The Florida Gators continue in the SEC baseball tournament tonight as they face Ole Miss (approx. 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
Florida, the #10 seed in the tournament, opened the postseason with an 11-3 win over 15th-seeded South Carolina on Tuesday. Five Gators collected multiple hits in the win. Florida entered the tournament having won the last six series, the longest such streak in the conference.
It has been a rollercoaster season for Florida. After starting the year with 11 straight wins and 16 wins in the first 18 games, the Gators started conference play with eight straight losses, finally winning an SEC matchup in the second game of a doubleheader at Ole Miss.
After beating Florida State in Gainesville on April 8, Florida finished the regular season winning 17 of 22 games, including taking two of three at top-ranked Texas.
On Tuesday, the top four hitters in the Gators’ lineup, shortstop Bobby Boser, first baseman Brendan Lawson, designated hitter Ty Evans, and catcher Brody Donay, combined to go nine for 18 with five runs scored and nine batted in.
Importantly, Florida used three pitchers, none of whom pitched as many as four innings. The relatively low pitch counts will allow more flexibility should the Gators advance deep into the tournament.
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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.
One comment
Larry Gillis, Director-at-Large, Libertarian Party of Florida
May 21, 2025 at 6:27 pm
THE GROUND-GLASS SANDWICH.
As you can well imagine, we Libertarians are badly torn by the performance of Donald Trump in his first few months as President.
He has attacked the girth and mass of the federal government, something that desperately needed to be done, a good thing for sure. However, he is heedless of due process at every turn. Worse, his view of Executive power is terrifying, especially under our beloved Constitution. People are scared stiff of being on his “enemies list”.
My view of all this: https://www.lpf.org/ground_glass_sandwich