Politics
Last Call for 8.12.25 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
CareerSource Florida President and CEO Adrienne Johnston moderated a discussion Tuesday that fit squarely into the Florida Chamber’s vision for talent development and tech-driven economic growth.
The panel, part of the 2025 Florida Technology & Innovation Solution Summit, brought together USF President Rhea Law and Florida Poly President Devin Stephenson — two institutions positioning themselves as essential engines in the state’s innovation economy.
Stephenson said Florida Poly’s all-STEM mission, top regional ranking by U.S. News & World Report, and graduates’ No. 1 in-state salaries all reflect its founding purpose as an economic driver.
From a student-designed inhaler that improves medication delivery by 50% to NASA-approved technology built for the International Space Station, he framed Florida Poly’s agility and industry partnerships — with Publix, Lockheed Martin, Disney, and others — as a direct response to market needs.
Even its solar racing team, he noted, models a culture of applied engineering excellence that feeds Florida’s competitive edge.
Law detailed USF’s new College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing, launching its first class in two weeks.
With “porous edges” extending into every USF discipline, the program aims to prepare graduates across fields to navigate and secure AI-driven systems. More than 200 faculty, bolstered by 14 new hires, will help meet a global shortage of 4 million cybersecurity workers.
She also teased the inaugural Cyber Bay 2025 conference in Tampa, slated for October, which will showcase public-private collaboration on tech workforce growth.
Both presidents reinforced a theme echoed throughout the Chamber event: Florida’s economic momentum depends on adaptable, industry-aligned institutions producing talent at the speed of business. Advisory councils, CEO engagement, and embedded AI tools were all cited as strategies to keep programs — and the state’s workforce — ahead of the curve.
Evening Reads
—”When Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin, anything could happen” via Michael Crowley of The New York Times
—“Putin could be laying a trap” via Jonathan Lemire of The Atlantic
—“How D.C. crime became a symbol — and a target — for MAGA and beyond” via Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Karen Tumulty, Drew Harwell, Clara Ence Morse and Jonathan Edwards of The Washington Post
—”With billions at risk, Nvidia CEO buys his way out of the trade battle” via Lingling Wei, Raffaele Huang and Amrith Ramkumar of The Wall Street Journal
—”Jay Collins, ‘the Chuck Norris of Florida politics,’ sworn in as Lieutenant Governor” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics
—”From sun and sand to code and capital: Top 10 economy hinges on embrace of tech” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics
—“‘Miracle in the Sunshine’: Next-level economy needs next-level talent, capital retention” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics
—“Lawyers distanced clients from Hope Florida Medicaid deal, records show” via Alexandra Glorioso, Lawrence Mower and Justin Garcia of the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times
—“FWC Commissioners appear poised to affirm the first bear hunt in Florida in a decade” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix
—”Live Local gap: New watchdog report says updated law still overlooks Florida’s ‘missing middle’” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“When you’ve lived a life of service … you don’t flinch when that next mission comes up. You just say, ‘Yes sir, let’s go.’”
— New Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, following his swearing-in ceremony.
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.
After a day full of high-level tech- and economy-focused talks, those attending the Florida Chamber’s Technology & Innovation Solution Summit could use a Binary Sunset while they, as Ian Holm would put it, “collate.”
Jay Collins officially replaced “Sen.” with “Lt. Gov.,” but if he has his eyes set on the next rung up, he might be due for an Impossible Mission. Or maybe not … time will tell.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell earned a Sea Legs for donning a life preserver and getting a first-hand look at the work harbor pilots do on the daily.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Marlins look to bounce back in Cleveland
The Miami Marlins open a three-game series in Cleveland against the Guardians (6:40 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Net Florida).
Miami lost four of five in Atlanta, including being swept in a doubleheader on Saturday. Still, the Marlins are hanging around in the wild card race. With 44 games left in the regular season, they are six games out of the final wild card spot in the National League and are one of eight teams within seven games of the three available wild card spots.
Right-hander Janson Junk is scheduled to start for the Marlins tonight. In his last outing, Junk allowed three runs in five innings as he picked up his sixth win of the season, a 6-4 decision against the Astros. He did not pitch in the series in Atlanta.
Cleveland is also in wild-card contention. The Guardians enter play tonight having won eight of the last 10 games and sit a game out of the American League wild card race and six and a half games behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central.
After the series in Cleveland, the Marlins are scheduled to face the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park for three games before returning home for nine straight games in South Florida starting Aug. 18.
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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.
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Mills was a day-one Byron Donalds backer in the gubernatorial race.
A former House Speaker and current candidate for Governor is leading the charge for Republicans as scandal swirls around a Congressman.
Saying the “evidence is mounting” against Rep. Cory Mills, Paul Renner says other candidates for Governor should “stand up and be counted” and join him in the call for Mills to leave Congress.
Renner made the call earlier this week.
But on Friday, the Palm Coast Republican doubled down.
He spotlighted fresh reporting from Roger Sollenberger alleging that Mills’ company “appears to have illegally exported weapons while he serves in Congress, including to Ukraine,” that Mills failed to disclose conflicts of interest, “tried to fistfight other Republican members of Congress, and lied about his party stature to bully other GOP candidates out of primaries that an alleged romantic interest was running in,” and lied about his conversion to Islam.
The House Ethics Committee is already probing Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, over allegations of profiting from federal defense contracts while in Congress. More recently, the Committee expanded its work to review allegations that he assaulted one ex-girlfriend and threatened to share intimate photos of another.
Other candidates have been more reticent in addressing the issue, including Rep. Byron Donalds.
“When any other members have been involved and stuff like this, my advice is the same,” said Donalds, a Naples Republican. “They need to actually spend a lot more time in the district and take stock of what’s going on at home, and make that decision with their voters.”
The response came less than a year after Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, spoke at the launch of Donalds’ gubernatorial campaign.
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Staff writer Jacob Ogles contributed reporting.
The cold war between Florida’s Governor and his predecessor is nearly seven years old and tensions show no signs of thawing.
On Friday, Sen. Rick Scott weighed in on Florida Politics’ reporting on the Agency for Health Care Administration’s apparent repayment of $10 million of Medicaid money from a settlement last year, which allegedly had been diverted to the Hope Florida Foundation, summarily filtered through non-profits through political committees, and spent on political purposes.
“I appreciate the efforts by the Florida legislature to hold Hope Florida accountable. Millions in tax dollars for poor kids have no business funding political ads. If any money was misspent, then it should be paid back by the entities responsible, not the taxpayers,” Scott posted to X.
While AHCA Deputy Chief of Staff Mallory McManus says that is an “incorrect” interpretation, she did not respond to a follow-up question asking for further detail this week.
The $10 million under scrutiny was part of a $67 million settlement from state Medicaid contractor Centene, which DeSantis said was “a cherry on top” in the settlement, arguing it wasn’t truly from Medicaid money.
But in terms of the Scott-DeSantis contretemps, it’s the latest example of tensions that seemed to start even before DeSantis was sworn in when Scott left the inauguration of his successor, and which continue in the race to succeed DeSantis, with Scott enthusiastic about current front runner Byron Donalds.
Earlier this year, Scott criticized DeSantis’ call to repeal so-called vaccine mandates for school kids, saying parents could already opt out according to state law.
While running for re-election to the Senate in 2024, Scott critiqued the Heartbeat Protection Act, a law signed by DeSantis that banned abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy with some exceptions, saying the 15 week ban was “where the state’s at.”
In 2023 after Scott endorsed Donald Trump for President while DeSantis was still a candidate, DeSantis said it was an attempt to “short circuit” the voters.
That same year amid DeSantis’ conflict over parental rights legislation with The Walt Disney Co., Scott said it was important for Governors to “work with” major companies in their states.
The critiques went both ways.
When running for office, DeSantis distanced himself from Scott amid controversy about the Senator’s blind trust for his assets as Governor.
“I basically made decisions to serve in uniform, as a prosecutor, and in Congress to my financial detriment,” DeSantis said in October 2018. “I’m not entering (office) with a big trust fund or anything like that, so I’m not going to be entering office with those issues.”
In 2020, when the state’s creaky unemployment website couldn’t handle the surge of applicants for reemployment assistance as the pandemic shut down businesses, DeSantis likened it to a “jalopy in the Daytona 500” and Scott urged him to “quit blaming others” for the website his administration inherited.
The chill between the former and current Governors didn’t abate in time for 2022’s hurricane season, when Scott said DeSantis didn’t talk to him after the fearsome Hurricane Ian ravaged the state.
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