| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Mia McCarthy | |  Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) arrives for a House Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol on September 19, 2023. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Floridians constitute a huge portion of the House Republican Conference. Yet, none hold a leadership post. Rep. KAT CAMMACK (R-Fla.) hopes to change that. Today, she’s in a two-way contest for House Republican Conference chair, the No. 4 leadership slot in the chamber. The post opened up after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to be ambassador to the United Nations. Members will meet at 2:30 p.m. for a secret ballot vote to weigh Cammack’s candidacy against Rep. LISA McCLAIN (R-Mich.). In a letter to her House colleagues, Cammack highlighted her messaging abilities, including a growing social media following. She outlined six goals, including a “district-driven, member-focused” approach to messaging, creating a “rapid response operation” to the news cycle and working with a data team to “identify best ways to reach constituents in all corners of our districts.” She also described making a “Dedicated Hispanic Outreach Task Force” to engage Hispanic communities. “Having served not only as a member, but also a deputy chief, I've seen both sides of the conference operation, and we've proven that we can build an effective communications operation,” Cammack said of her team in an interview with Playbook. “We're one of the most effective messengers in the conference, and we want to take the lessons that we've learned and really help other members in the conference develop their own brand and really get the exposure that they deserve.” Cammack has long been positioning herself for leadership. She unsuccessfully ran two years ago to lead the Republican Study Committee, an influential conservative caucus/— and her name was floated to fill the conference vice chair post left open by Mike Johnson when the Louisiana Republican quickly became speaker of the House last year. She traveled to nine states in 12 days to campaign with candidates right before Election Day in her latest role as vice chair of recruitment for the National Republican Congressional Committee. She told Playbook on Monday she had talked to almost every Florida delegation member, “minus one or two,” but has “overwhelming support in the Florida delegation.” Cammack, 36, also focused much of her GOP election messaging on young voters. The Gainesville representative has done events with Young Republican groups across Florida and the National Young Republicans endorsed her in a post on X on Monday. It would be a boon to Florida if Cammack were to win the election, alongside Sen. RICK SCOTT potentially becoming majority leader in the upper chamber (A vote on that is set for 9:30 a.m.). Cammack called such an outcome a “game changer and a long time coming,” adding that “when people think of freedom and conservative leadership, they look to Florida.” “We have become kind of the place that members flock to when they're looking for support,” Cammack said. “And I think it's time that we have one of our own that is willing to step up and be a part of the conversation and the decision making at the table.” — Mia McCarthy and Kimberly Leonard Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
| | | | The lame duck session could reshape major policies before year's end. Get Inside Congress delivered daily to follow the final sprint of dealmaking on defense funding, AI regulation and disaster aid. Subscribe now. | | | | | |  | DATELINE D.C. | | | SENATE LEADERSHIP LATEST — Sen. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-Tenn.) is the latest member to come out in support of Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) for majority leader following the candidate forum on Tuesday night. A total of seven senators have made their intentions to vote for Scott public, in contrast to four for Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) and one for Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas), Axios reported on Tuesday night.
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | |  President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 6, 2024. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | TRANSITION LATEST — President-elect DONALD TRUMP hasn’t formally announced that he plans to nominate Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) to be secretary of state, but there’s been plenty of reaction to the possibility anyway. — It would be a bombshell for Florida politics. Gov. RON DESANTIS would get to pick the replacement for Rubio’s seat, giving him a powerful decision in the wake of a presidential loss. “Everyone who wrote Gov. Ron DeSantis’ obituary following the presidential election is an idiot,” Anthony Pedicini, a longtime Republican campaign consultant from Florida, told POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. “The governor everyone said was a lame duck is getting more powerful by the minute.” — On how it would affect Latin American policy, Rubio’s selection “signals a dramatic shift from the current U.S. policy towards Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, reports Antonio Maria Delgado of the Miami Herald. —One place it’s not playing as well is among MAGA-world’s Very Online, where Rubio has been getting some pushback, reports POLITICO’s Natalie Allison and Meridith McGraw. — If Rubio does get appointed, some inside Trumpworld would like to see Republican National Committee Chair LARA TRUMP land the opening, reports NBC News’ Matt Dixon. MORE FLORIDIANS TO D.C. — Florida-based political operative JAMES BLAIR will be tapped to be a of deputy chief of staff at the White House, reports Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post. Blair was the political director for Trump’s 2024 campaign and earlier advised Ron DeSantis during his 2018 gubernatorial run before going on to be his deputy chief of staff. Trump also announced Florida real estate investor STEVE WITKOFF to be special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff was golfing with Trump in Jupiter during the second attempt on his life. INSIDE MAR-A-LAGO — “A former White House official still close to Trump compared the situation at Mar-a-Lago to the Game of Thrones drama series, and another former Trump official also described chaotic jockeying for jobs,” reports Chris Megerian and Jill Colvin of The Associated Press. As POLITICO’s Natalie Allison and Olivia Beavers report : “There’s the official, adviser-run Donald Trump transition. And then there’s a parallel universe of MAGA hangers-on trying to wedge their way in. A cadre of Palm Beach Instagram influencers and other MAGA keyboard warriors are launching public bids for jobs in Trump’s administration as the president-elect’s top advisers and prominent donors have convened to determine who will be in the next White House.” 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT — “Ryan Routh, accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump, barred from sharing case materials,” reports Hannah Phillips of The Palm Beach Post . “If Routh continues reaching out to news outlets, he risks violating new rules established in an order Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon prohibited Routh from sharing evidence, referred to as discovery material, with anyone outside his team of public defenders. Any violation of the order could result in additional criminal penalties.”
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | WHEN IN ROME — Gov. RON DESANTIS met with Italian Prime Minister GIORGIA MELONI on Tuesday. The delegation also met in Viareggio with “three of the world’s top yacht makers at their shipyards — Sanlorenzo, Benetti and Overmarine — who each have footprints in Florida,” per a post from DeSantis on social media. Buonanotte … “World-renowned tenor ANDREA BOCELLI [gave] a private concert on Tuesday to an audience that includes DeSantis, state agency heads and Italian businessmen and dignitaries … The private concert was planned at Palazzo Borghese in Florence, with an expected crowd of about 200 people, according to a source familiar with the event,” reports Ana Ceballos of the Miami Herald. BACK STATESIDE — “Book removals in Florida schools almost doubled last year,” reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. “Schools across Florida removed more than 700 books in the 2023-24 academic year, a rate that almost doubles the number of titles that were pulled from circulation the year prior, according to a new report from the state Department of Education.” Books that faced objections included “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” “Flamer,” “The Handmaid's Tale,” “The Bluest Eye” and “Game of Thrones.”
| | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | SUCCESSION — “Disney explores wider field of candidates to succeed [Bob] Iger,” reports The Wall Street Journal’s Robbie Whelan, Emily Glazer and Jessica Toonkel . “Names that have surfaced in Disney’s deliberations in recent months include external candidates, such as Andrew Wilson, chief executive officer of game company Electronic Arts, people familiar with the matter said. Disney is working with recruiters from the firm Heidrick & Struggles to help guide its review of external candidates, and the search firm has identified at least two more potential external candidates, these people said.” BACKLASH — “Seminole County teacher suspended for making political comments in class,” reports Gail Paschall-Brown of WESH. "’If you are not white, you are going to be in trouble over the next four years as far as the living situation of the United States, and I'm not kidding,’ the teacher told her classroom.” — “Brightline gets $45 million deal with Martin County for a station in downtown Stuart,” reports Keith Burbank of Treasure Coast Newspapers.
| | | | Policy change is coming—be the pro who saw it first. Access POLITICO Pro’s Issue Analysis series on what the transition means for agriculture, defense, health care, tech, and more. Strengthen your strategy. | | | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | NOT IN PLAY — “Too little, too late: In final weeks, Kamala Harris campaign sidelined Florida leadership, launched ineffective field work,” reports Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics . “Sources inside the Florida arm of the Democratic presidential campaign say that the extraordinary disorganization left the operation rudderless for weeks before the election, … Sources say the frugal demands proved especially painful in Florida, where consultants had grown accustomed to swing state status. Every indicator, though, signaled such prestige was unmistakably in the past.” MEANWHILE — Filmmaker BILLY CORBEN shared in a post that he’s leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a non-party affiliated voter. He blamed state party leaders for last week’s losses, writing: “You’ve achieved the unthinkable: dragging the state and local party from rock bottom to the abyss. Sucking the last breath (and penny) from a moribund brand, putting the final nail in its coffin, burying it and writing its obituary.”
| | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | | | | 
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell touring areas damaged by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 13 in Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | FEMA UNDER FIRE — FEMA Administrator DEANNE CRISWELL has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee next week, after a report from the conservative Daily Wire found a team in Lake Placid skipped over offering federal assistance to homes displaying pro-Trump flags and yard signs. The person who led the team has also spoken out publicly to indicate the practice may not have been as isolated as initially reported. “FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation, so this is not isolated,” Marn’i Washington, who has since been fired, said in an interview with journalist and commentator Roland Martin. “This is a colossal event of avoidance not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas.” Some possible context to the comments: FEMA workers had to temporarily stop going door-to-door in some parts of North Carolina in October after Hurricane Helene, because they feared threats from misinformed residents. WATCHING THE NEXT STORM — “A tropical depression is likely to form in the western Caribbean by the end of the week and will then intensify into the season's 18th named storm, Sara,” reports The Weather Channel. PRICETAG REVEALED — The fixes to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton will cost $55 million, reports Spectrum News. Hennessy Construction Services sent a report detailing the damage and needed repairs to the city council on Tuesday and said the repairs could be completed by the 2026 season. The Rays are likely to play next season at a nearby spring training facility.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — An old bait shop across from Mar-a-Lago will soon be turned into a speakeasy-style lounge in a nod to the “golden era of Palm Beach opulence,” reports The Palm Beach Post. WEEKEND WEDDING — Jacob Bliss, comms director for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Jenna Van Middelem, an attorney at Gordon Rees, got married Sunday at The View at Pepperrell Cove in Kittery Point, Maine. They had their first date at CopyCat Co. Pic … Another pic … SPOTTED: Anthony Sabatini, Wendell Husebø, Breccan Thies and Ashley Oliver. BIRTHDAYS: State Rep. Sam Garrison … Mark Delegal, partner at Delegal Aubuchon Consulting. | | | | 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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