| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | | |  A Secret Service agent guards the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Donald Trump on March 21, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Donald Trump’s eponymous Florida properties have come to symbolize the center of the MAGA universe. In the last couple of years alone, the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach was the site of Trump’s 2024 reelection announcement, where Republicans kissed the ring and even an alleged crime scene. And — to a lesser extent last year — the properties continue to be a draw for political events, campaign finance documents show. The biggest patron of the properties was Trump’s own campaign, per a Playbook review of Federal Election Commission filings that covered payments in 2023. One nearly $85,500 expense, from November, shows the campaign paid to rent space in the gilded oceanside club and for catering services. Fall 2023 was a busy time for Trump: He hosted the Republican Party of Florida at Mar-a-Lago in November and had two fundraisers at the lavish club in October. In all, the Trump campaign spent $162,000 last year on travel, food, lodging, transportation and events involving Mar-a-Lago. It also spent more than $19,000 on lodging at Trump National Doral just outside Miami in June 2023, a couple weeks after the former president was arraigned at the federal courthouse in Miami under charges of hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his presidency. The campaign did not respond to inquiries about the spending, but Trump’s businesses have long brought in political dollars. Also partaking was Make America Great Again Inc., the political action committee supporting Trump’s candidacy. It spent more than $56,000 at Mar-a-Lago for catering and renting the facilities, filings show. Patrons of the properties included Florida politicians, such as GOP Rep. Gus Bilirakis, whose campaign spent more than $18,600 for a deposit to host a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. Bilirakis managed to get Trump to headline and they all posed for photos with attendees, Florida Politics reported at the time. Campaigns for Rep. Brian Mast and Greg Steube, both Republicans of Florida, had smaller-amount travel expenses at Mar-a-Lago, and Steube had a couple of golf fees at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Among those who flocked to Mar-a-Lago from out of state were Trump-endorsed Bernie Moreno, a Senate candidate in Ohio. Kimberly Guilfoye, fiancée to Donald Trump Jr., held a fundraiser for Moreno in January that reportedly brought in $350,000 and attracted 300 donors. The Moreno campaign spent about $16,700 in December toward Mar-a-Lago's catering, filings show. The campaign for Trump-endorsed GOP Rep. Jim Banks, a Senate candidate in Indiana, spent more than $15,000 on Mar-a-Lago catering and facilities rentals last year. Banks told Playbook via social media that he thought Mar-a-Lago was a “beautiful property” and that Trump was a “great fundraiser for the party” but didn’t share anything further about the event. The Senate campaign for Nevada Republican Jim Marchant spent almost $66,700 at Mar-a-Lago in November and December of last year. The campaign told Playbook that GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama endorsed Marchant at the event, which it described as a gathering of the “America First movement.” The number of events at Trump Florida properties in 2023 was far lower than previous years, but 2023 was an off-election year and Trump’s popularity sputtered at the start of the year. Trump spends the sweltering, high-hurricane-risk summer months at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey — meaning a good deal of events are happening outside of his Florida properties. More political events are already planned for Trump’s Florida properties for 2024, including a MAGA Inc. roundtable next month at Trump National Doral, per an invitation shared with Playbook. And ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a former Democrat who ran for president in 2020 and is considered a potential running mate for Trump, is appearing at the 917 third annual fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago next week, The Hill reported. WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis will speak at the Freedom Institute of Collier County at 11 a.m. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | A message from Alibaba: Every day, American businesses generate big global sales on Alibaba's online marketplace – to the tune of $66B in one year alone. These sales are having a bigger impact on communities back home. Florida companies like Timberwolf Pet Foods and DS Laboratories sell to over one billion consumers in China through Alibaba, supporting 15,800 local jobs and contributing $1.9B to Florida's GDP. Learn more about how Alibaba positively impacts Florida's economy. | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | |  Florida State House Speaker Paul Renner is seen during an event at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 10, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP | WHAT TO WATCH — Everyone expects Gov. Ron DeSantis to bring the hammer down on House Speaker Paul Renner’s prized social media bill. The remaining questions are when will DeSantis veto the bill — and what exactly will lawmakers do with time running out on the 2024 session? DeSantis had outlined some of the concerns he had about the bill before it was passed, including how it intersected with parental rights and whether it would pass constitutional muster. The governor and Renner had a closed-door meeting on Monday that was not noticed ahead of time. Neither has publicly disclosed the contents of that meeting, but legislators and lobbyists are bracing for DeSantis to veto the bill. DeSantis has nixed top priorities of legislative leaders in the past, but this may prove the biggest break yet during his five years in office. — Gary Fineout ROUNDUP — House and Senate reach spending deals on roads, schools and conservation, per a roundup by POLITICO’s Tallahassee team. House and Senate budget negotiators on Tuesday reached decisions on several major spending items, including a boost in teacher pay recommended by DeSantis and money for land acquisition programs. They also agreed to an amount for the state’s main road building program. CHANGED UP — “Florida Senate revises legislation that critics blasted as bringing back 'child labor,’” reports Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network - Florida. “The version of the bill that cleared the Senate Rules committee: No longer allows 16-and 17-year-olds to work more than 30 hours a week unless they obtain parental permission, requires a 30-minute break every four hours if the minor has a shift longer than eight hours, and says 16-and 17-year-olds cannot work more than eight hours if they have school the next day, unless it's a Sunday or a holiday.” PASTOR PITCH — “Faith leaders, educators ask Florida officials to reconsider Black history standards,” reports Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network - Florida. “[Rev. Dr. R.B.] Holmes, pastor of Bethel Baptist for three decades, said he appreciated the department sending a vice chancellor to meet with him and the other task force members who delivered the curriculum … Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. was not present in the lobby during the presentation. But Holmes, a former registered Republican who gave the benediction at the governor's first inauguration, said he was disappointed in DeSantis. He said he still has not heard from the governor.” FALLING THROUGH — “Defamation reforms, alarming to news business, on verge of failure in Florida Legislature,” reports Florida Phoenix’s Michael Moline. “The speaker [of the House, Paul Renner] doesn’t want it. The governor doesn’t have the bandwidth to negotiate for it,” said House sponsor, GOP Rep. Alex Andrade. “There’s nothing to trade, nothing to negotiate on. President Passidomo is going to kill it.” CROSSHAIRS — “CBD could be banned in Florida if hemp bill passes, advocates warn,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello. “CBD, a medication used by millions of Americans to battle a variety of illnesses and anxiety, could be banned entirely in Florida because of a bill that seeks to outlaw synthetic chemicals in hemp that can induce euphoria.” ‘SLEDGEHAMMER’ — “Nvidia’s $70 million Florida supercomputer hobbled by DeSantis law,” by Bloomberg’s Michael Smith. “Academics at UF and other Florida universities want to use HiPerGator AI for everything from developing better strains of wheat to finding cancer-fighting drugs. Yet such work is being stymied, professors say, by a DeSantis-backed law that effectively blocks universities from recruiting from seven countries ‘of concern,’ including two that produce top AI researchers: China and Iran.” — “Report finds that 86 percent of rural Florida hospitals no longer deliver babies,” reports Health News Florida’s Rick Baker | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | |  The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Board of Supervisors (L-R) Martin Garcia – Chair and Charbel Barakat – Vice Chair during a monthly meeting on June 21, 2023 in Reedy Creek, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | TODAY — The Central Florida Tourism Oversight board of supervisors is meeting at 9:30 a.m. (Tune in.) NEW COLLEGE, NEW COMMS — “For marketing, New College of Florida hires former pro-DeSantis super PAC spokesperson,” reports the Miami Herald’s Ana Ceballos. “A spokesperson for the small liberal arts school said Tuesday the university has been paying TMF Communications — a Tallahassee-based company headed by Taryn Fenske, a former spokesperson for both DeSantis’ public office and an affiliated super PAC that supported his presidential campaign — $15,000 a month since last July.” GOV TAKES DISNEY VICTORY LAP — The governor’s office shot a video to celebrate one year since he overthrew the government surrounding Walt Disney World, and it included some of the score from “Fantasia.” ‘HE HAS NO REMORSE’ — “Michael Shirley, a longtime consultant to disgraced Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, was sentenced Tuesday to just over seven years in federal prison for fraudulent actions that netted his company $536,402 in public money through a bribery-and-kickback scheme,” reports Martin E. Comas of the Orlando Sentinel. “As he handed down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell called Shirley’s crimes a ‘very serious offense’ that ‘eroded the public’s trust’ in government.” OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS — ”'Brightline made the wrong decision': Fort Pierce reacts to train service choosing Stuart,” reports Laurie K. BlandfordTreasure Coast Newspapers. “Residents, business owners and government officials were bummed Tuesday but tried to stay positive that the high-speed passenger rail service didn’t choose either of the two proposals submitted for Fort Pierce.” — “Tallahassee City Hall to host bicentennial birthday party on March 4,” reports the Tallahassee Democrat’s Arianna Otero | | | | A message from Alibaba:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
TODAY — U.S. Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former Democratic congresswoman, is holding a student roundtable at noon on gun violence prevention in Miami with former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona.
FLORIDA VISIT — U.S. House Majority leader Hakeem Jeffries was in Palm Beach on Monday night for a fundraiser supporting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Others attending included Nikki Fried, chair of Florida Democrats, as well as Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel. GOP CLASH — “Palm Beach County GOP faces friction, unhappiness with chair as 2024 elections loom,” reports the Palm Beach Post’s Stephany Matat. “At the center of the friction is party chairman Kevin Neal. The unhappiness with Neal, less than a year into his tenure, is evident in a no confidence vote last month, a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County court and consternation over what his critics say is underwhelming fundraising. Former county GOP chair, Sid Dinerstein, a Neal critic ... said his main concern with Neal is the lackluster fundraising that Dinerstein fears will make the county's GOP chapter ineffective.” | | DATELINE D.C. | | | | 
Florida's Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images |
LADAPO ON BLAST — Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Tuesday called for state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to resign for disregarding guidance on vaccinations amid a measles outbreak.
"To be the super spreader of misinformation that he represents, he just continues a pattern of grossly irresponsible public health guidance that has made more people sick," Wasserman Schultz said during a press conference in Sunrise, Florida. Ladapo, who has long rejected the medical establishment's guidelines for Covid vaccinations, sent a letter on Feb. 20 to parents leaving decisions about vaccinations or removing unvaccinated kids from schools up to parents. He did not follow recommendations to urge parents to vaccinate their kids or keep unvaccinated students home. Ladapo did not respond to a request for comment. The state has so far reported 10 cases of measles infections, including nine elementary-school aged children in Broward County and one adult in Polk County. The virus is highly contagious but people who have been vaccinated against it have an incredibly high protection rate. — Arek Sarkissian | | | | On the ground in Albany. Get critical policy news and analysis inside New York State. Track how power brokers are driving change across legislation and budget and impacting lobbying efforts. Learn more. | | | | |
JUDGES INCOMING — The Senate confirmed two of President Joe Biden's picks to serve as federal judges in Florida.
GOP Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio were among the lawmakers who confirmed Jacqueline Becerra and David S. Leibowitz to be U.S. District judges for the Southern District of Florida yesterday. Becerra has been a U.S. magistrate Judge in the district since 2019, according to a statement from the White House. She previously worked at Greenberg Traurig, P.A. in Miami and graduated from the University of Miami and Yale Law School. Leibowitz has been corporate counsel for Braman Management Association in Miami since 2012 and since 2015 secretary and general counsel, according to the White House. He received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Biden nominated Becerra and Leibowitz in November, with three empty judicial positions from the district to be filled. Becerra was confirmed 56-40, with four other Republican senators, Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joining Florida's two senators and the Democrats. Those Republicans also helped pass Leibowitz's confirmation 64-33 in addition to Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Kennedy (R-La.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and Todd Young (R-Ind.). The Senate is scheduled to vote on confirming Melissa Damian this week to fill the third South Florida vacancy. — Mia McCarthy | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
A BERRY GOOD TIME — The Tampa Bay Times put together a guide for Florida’s Strawberry Festival that kicks off tomorrow.
— Florida parents are free to name their babies whatever they want, even if the names contain symbols, per USA Today Network - Florida — Tickets to Disney World are going up next year, per CNN BIRTHDAYS: Attorney Matthew Weidner | | A message from Alibaba: Timberwolf Pet Food, a family-owned company based in Windermere, Florida, achieved an impressive 7-figure growth after launching on Alibaba's online marketplace, which reaches over one billion consumers in China. Partnering with Alibaba helped the 25-year-old company double its sales projections, allowing Timberwolf to expand its product lines, production, and staffing to meet the increasing demand.
Florida businesses generated enough global sales on Alibaba’s online marketplace to add $1.9 billion to Florida’s economy, supporting 15,800 local jobs and $1.1 billion in wages in one year.
"I knew from experience that Alibaba, with over one billion online consumers, was essential to launch our brand in China successfully," said Timberwolf CEO Kam Martin.
Learn more about how Alibaba positively impacts Florida's economy. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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