Good Friday morning. Welcome to the last Florida Playbook of the year. Thank you to all the readers. Thank you for the criticism. Thank you for the questions.
Please come in— It wasn’t listed on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ official schedule, but he had some high-profile visitors drop by his office this week.
Foreign delegation— Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., along with Yousef Al Otaiba, the ambassador from the United Arab Emirates and Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, the consul general of Israel in Miami met with DeSantis, according to photos that Herzog posted on social media Thursday.
Context — DeSantis has been quite vocal in his support for Israel. He backed the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, held a Cabinet meeting in Israel, and he pushed to go after corporations that were boycotting or limiting their activities in Israel. DeSantis’ reelection campaign made outreach to Jewish voters in Florida a priority.
Timing is everything— But let’s also note that Herzog’s meeting with DeSantis (in Tallahassee no less) comes at the same time that former President Donald Trump has come under criticism for his recent dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach with Ye, better known as Kanye West, and white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Trump is set to meet today with an Orthodox Jewish educational group in Doral, POLITICO’s Meredith McGraw reports.
Something to watch— Certainly, foreign leaders have visited Florida governors, including DeSantis, in the past. But it’s not every day that ambassadors from two countries would make the decision to travel to Florida’s hard-to-get to capital city to discuss significant foreign policy issues like the Abraham Accords — which happened while Trump was president. But it may also prove valuable if DeSantis winds up in the White House in the near future.
LUNA SIGNALS A NO VOTE ON SPEAKER— Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is on the record as a firm no vote against Kevin McCarthybid for House speaker when Republicans take control of the House in 2023. Incoming Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is making it clear it’s going to take a lot for her to vote for the House minority leader as well.
The Republican, who won the seat once held by Democrat Charlie Crist, this week penned a two-page letter to Pinellas County residents that the “foundation” of Congress is “broken.” In her letter, she called for a series of changes, including restoring the rule that allows a motion to vacate the chair. This procedure was set aside under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi but conservative Republicans want to reinstate a rule that makes it easier for caucus members to replace their leader.
Luna also cited other issues of importance to her including “fair treatment” to conservatives regarding committee assignments and a promise for Republicans to remain neutral in primaries.
“I cannot represent you to the best of my abilities unless the outlined changes are made, and therefore my position remains the same. I will only vote for a Speaker candidate who embraces these changes and returns power to the American people through their representatives,” Luna wrote.
Luna also made it clear in her letter that she would “never vote to allow a Democrat to take the gavel.”