Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryFebruary 1, 2018

An environmental law professor said Thursday that Ryan Zinke saying last month that drilling off Florida’s coasts was “off the table” in reality gives the state no legal protections at all. Alyson Flournoy believes the Interior Secretary’s comments may make it more difficult for the Office of Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to defend a final decision […]

Scott PowersJanuary 29, 2018

Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine is seeing Tuesday’s State of the Union speech as an opportunity to push his climate change and off-shore drilling messages. The former Miami Beach mayor’s gubernatorial campaign announced it will be spending $70,000 to air his “Denial” TV commercial during President Donald Trump‘s speech Tuesday night. That’s in addition […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 25, 2018

Vern Buchanan has fired off a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, urging the agency to preserve offshore drilling safety regulations adopted after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Longboat Key Republican’s letter is a formal protest to the proposed weakening of federal rules requiring better emergency shutdown systems, new guidelines regulating acceptable drilling […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 24, 2018

Both of Florida’s U.S. senators and 22 of its House members are in a dither over mixed signals on offshore oil drilling from Washington. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke assured Gov. Rick Scott that Florida was “off the table” earlier this month. Soon, Zinke’s position was undercut by Ocean Energy Management Acting Director Walter Cruickshank’s telling the House Natural Resources […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 19, 2018

Gov. Rick Scott scored a political victory earlier this year, when Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told him Florida would not be subject to offshore oil drilling. Scott asserted that he’d been “clear forever” in his opposition — a point disputed by Democrats, who have painted him as an “election-year environmentalist” who has flip-flopped on the drilling question. Friday […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 19, 2018

Florida is not yet “off the table” in a federal plan to expand offshore oil drilling, according to an official of the Donald Trump administration. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) acting director Walter Cruickshank revealed to a congressional committee Friday that Florida could still be included in offshore drilling activities, paving the way for […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 17, 2018

Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson on Wednesday made moves to block three Department of the Interior Nominees until Secretary Ryan Zinke publishes a new offshore drilling plan that officially takes Florida “off the table.” Zinke announced last week that the department would not explore offshore drilling in Florida, so far the only coastal state that […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 15, 2018

Although the Donald Trump administration removed Florida from its controversial proposal to permit drilling in most U.S. continental shelf waters, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan said Monday that “Florida is not out of the woods yet” when it comes to protecting the state from another catastrophic oil spill — and wants legislation extending a drilling ban. “Although I’m […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 11, 2018

At Thursday’s White House briefing, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders asserted that abandoned plans for drilling for oil off Florida’s coast were not a political favor to Gov. Rick Scott. “I am not aware of any political favor that would have been part of,” Huckabee Sanders said. Huckabee Sanders said that the “public comment” process was one in […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 10, 2018

The narrative looked great for Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday. The Donald Trump White House backed away from a proposal to permit offshore drilling off the coast of Florida, after a meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Zinke extolled the virtues of the Governor in the press release — lauding his “leadership,” calling him “straightforward.” “I support […]

Tag: Ryan Zinke
Image via AP.

Environmental attorney says Florida more vulnerable to offshore drilling after Ryan Zinke’s remarks

Philip Levine pushing ‘Denial’ ad during State of the Union

Vern Buchanan (again) protests drilling regulation rollbacks

Majority of Florida Delegation demands clarity on White House offshore drilling position

Rick Scott: Offshore drilling still ‘off the table’

Doanld Trump administration official admits Florida offshore drilling still ‘on the table’

Bill Nelson blocks three Interior nominees over offshore drilling plan

Vern Buchanan: Florida ‘not out of the woods yet’ for offshore drilling

White House: Flip-flop on Florida offshore drilling not a ‘political favor’

Rick Scott says he’s been ‘clear forever’ in opposition to offshore oil drilling