Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Call it Groundhog Day in Gainesville — Kent Fuchs has agreed to stay on as interim President for one more month, marking yet another delay in the University of Florida’s long, tumultuous quest to land a permanent leader.
With his new Sept. 1 exit date, the UF Board of Trustees now has a few more weeks to name an acting successor as it reboots a presidential search expected to last until … well, who knows?
The chaos began with the exit of Ben Sasse, the former U.S. Senator whose short-lived UF presidency ended under dual clouds: his wife’s health struggles and escalating tensions with Board Chair Mori Hosseini, likely related to his loose guard of the university’s purse strings.
A state audit later found $14.8 million in presidential office spending, including questionable consultant contracts, uncompetitive catering costs, and high-priced hires, many of them working remotely from out of state.
After a lengthy search, UF’s trustees unanimously backed Santa Ono, the well-credentialed now-former President of the University of Michigan, an institution that, alongside Chapel Hill and upper-tier UC schools, has long been viewed by UF brass as the benchmark for what a public university should be.
But the state Board of Governors blocked Ono’s hire under pressure from conservative Florida politicians — including 2026 gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott — who lambasted Ono for past support of DEI initiatives and a perceived lack of ideological alignment with the state’s rightward shift in higher ed policy.
Former House Speaker Paul Renner, now a BOG member, publicly challenged Ono’s record. And while Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t join the chorus — likely to avoid clashing with Hosseini, a key ally — he also withheld support for the trustees’ pick.
So, who’s next?
Renner himself continues to be floated, despite denying interest. Alan Levine, a fellow BOG member and hospital executive, is also in the rumor mill.
But there’s also an intriguing longshot: Jamal Sowell.
A Marine veteran, Sowell is both DeSantis-aligned and has deep roots in the Gator Nation as both a UF alum and a former Student Body President. He likewise holds a graduate degree in higher education administration and, more pertinent to the interim job, gained firsthand insight into UF operations as a special assistant to former university President Bernie Machen.
His profile checks all the boxes — loyalty, credentials, and a Gainesville story to tell. And he’s available, having just wrapped up a successful stint serving as Florida A&M University’s Vice President of Government Relations.
There will doubtless be much hypothesizing over the next 30 days as Florida’s flagship university remains caught in the crossfire of politics, prestige and power.
Evening Reads
—”The 31 most eye-popping lines from Donald Trump’s European news conference” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—“The corrupt bargain behind Gaza’s catastrophe” via Yair Rosenberg of The Atlantic
—“EPA moves to end climate regulation under Clean Air Act” via Jake Spring and Anusha Mathur of The Washington Post
—”Psychedelic therapy crashed and burned. MAHA might bring it back” via John Semley of WIRED
—”Is MAHA losing its battle to make Americans healthier?” via Dylan Scott of Vox
—”Hope Florida charity says Ron DeSantis officials didn’t need to report gifts” via Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times
—”Florida has no formal hurricane plan for Alligator Alcatraz” via Alex Harris of the Miami Herald
—”Florida prison data breach exposes visitors’ contact information to inmates” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix
—”Audit says Visit Orlando broke rules on spending public money” via Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel
—”He helped build up Barry Sanders. Now he’s college football’s first $1 million strength coach” via Rachel Bachman of The Wall Street Journal
Quote of the Day
“We were told for so many years, well, you’ve got to learn to code, for some of these jobs, it may end up being the opposite.”
— Ron DeSantis, on AI’s effect on the job market.
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 DeSantis a Finally for giving the boot to Fort Pierce City Commissioner James Taylor days after his arrest for allegedly sending sexually explicit images to a minor.
Follow that up with a Spooky Red Scare owing to the Governor’s fixation on the leading candidate in the New York City mayoral election.
Help Dr. Ashley Norse, a Jax-based emergency medical physician, celebrate her rise to the top spot at the Florida Medical Association with a Madam President.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Marlins clawing for wild card pertinence
The Miami Marlins continue a three-game series in St. Louis against the Cardinals tonight (7:45 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Network Florida).
Miami continues to hang around on the periphery of the National League wild-card chase. After winning six of eight games after the All-Star break, the Marlins lost the series finale in Milwaukee and then fell 7-1 to the Cardinals last night to fall to five games below .500 (50-55).
Miami sits 11 games out of the National League East and seven games back in the wild card standings.
Monday’s loss was unusual. The Marlins’ pitching and defense have been excellent lately. Before surrendering seven runs to the Cardinals, the Marlins had limited the opposition to three runs or less in five of the last six games. The outlier is a 7-4 victory over the Brewers.
All-Star Kyle Stowers continues to lead the offense. Stowers paces the Marlins in batting average (.299), home runs (23), and runs batted in (63). Second baseman Otto Lopez has also contributed. He is one of two other Marlins in double figures in home runs (11).
The series concludes tomorrow evening before the Marlins return to South Florida to welcome the Yankees to town.
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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.
