Politics
Delegation for 8.11.26: Vaccine battle — online safety — Piker — purple district — ICE tax
Shots fired
Two distinct types of vaccine claims had members of Florida’s congressional delegation tossing heated remarks at some of the nation’s top health leaders.
An announcement by President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy that the administration would greatly reduce its recommendations on vaccine schedules prompted pushback from Democrats.
“Donald Trump’s new executive order changing the childhood vaccine schedule against the advice of pediatric experts is dangerous and makes no sense,” said Rep. Lois Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat.
“Vaccines have saved millions of children from diseases that once killed, paralyzed, and disabled them. These changes could mean more sick children, more trips to the doctor, and higher healthcare costs for families. Our grandchildren should not be guinea pigs for political ideology or conspiracy theories. As a grandmother, I am furious. Our kids deserve medical decisions based on science, not politics.”
Frankel has raised concerns in the past about Kennedy withholding money from the Gavi Alliance, a global program delivering child vaccines worldwide and an effort that was recently reassigned to the State Department because Kennedy was not supporting it.
Meanwhile, Republicans were voicing anger at Anthony Fauci over newly public communications where he raised concerns about miscarriage risk from the COVID-19 vaccine.
“This is evil. I know several women that had the COVID-19 vaccine and miscarried,” posted Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Pinellas Republican who had her first child in 2023. “I also remember hearing this at my doctor’s office when I was pregnant. This is a crime against humanity.”
Sen. Rick Scott, a former health executive who recently supported holding Fauci in contempt of Congress, also pilloried Fauci, who closely advised both Trump and President Joe Biden about pandemic response.
“This is disgusting,” posted Scott, a Naples Republican. “Fauci knew that the COVID vaccine was a potential risk for pregnant women, yet he kept Americans in the dark about the risks. One of the risks included the possibility of a miscarriage in the first trimester. We need to hold Fauci accountable now!”
Scott notably encouraged Americans to get vaccines when they were released, though he objected to vaccine mandates supported by the Biden administration. He encouraged individuals at the time to consult with personal physicians about whether to get the vaccine.
Online alert
As students in Florida School Districts return to the classroom, Sen. Ashley Moody took a moment to stress online safety for children.
The Plant City Republican has championed the Kids Online Safety Act in the Senate, a bill heavily shaped by Rep. Gus Bilirakis in the House. The bill just passed out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and heads to the Senate floor after the August recess.
But as that works its way through Congress, Moody urged parents to stay proactive in preventing exposure to online predators.
“As millions of Florida families get back into the rhythm of a new school year, it is important that we keep our children safe not just at school, but online as well. We are continuing to see risks follow young people into the digital spaces where they spend so much of their time; that’s why I’m fighting to protect our children through the Kids Online Safety Act,” Moody said in a back-to-school video.
“This legislation would help guard our youth from online threats like predators and drug dealers. To all of Florida’s students, parents and teachers, I hope you have a safe and successful start to the new school year.”
Editorial irritation
Scott has harbored frustration with progressive activist Hasan Piker since the influencer took to Twitch to call for people to kill the Naples Republican.
As Piker has earned attention promoting successful far-left candidates, Scott has spoken up often about the extreme rhetoric of the not-so-distant past. He vented frustration on his own online platform this week as Rolling Stone published a feature titled “Why is everyone scared of Hasan Piker?” Scott can think of some reasons.
“Hasan Piker’s ‘complex view of America’ is that he hates it and everything our country stands for,” Scott posted on X. “@HasanTheHun (Piker’s handle) called for my murder, wants all capitalists murdered, and said America deserved 9/11. Shame on Rolling Stone for giving him a platform with this embarrassing softball interview.”
Piker in the interview certainly uses the mainstream progressive outlet for a less bombastic pitch than what got him banned on Twitch (”If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott,” Piker said just last year). Rolling Stone describes him as a “matinee-handsome progressive icon” who intends to “counterbalance the influence that online right-wing commentators have had on younger audiences.”
Purple Panhandle
To commemorate National Purple Heart Day, Rep. Jimmy Patronis joined local leaders in Pensacola for an event at Veterans Memorial Park honoring recipients. In the heavy military District, plenty who earned the honor during combat were in attendance.
“Those who earned the Purple Heart made sacrifices most of us will never fully understand,” Patronis said.
“Here in Northwest Florida, we are surrounded by heroes who answered the call to serve and families who carry the weight of that sacrifice every day. Standing alongside our veterans and their families was a powerful reminder of the debt of gratitude we owe to those who defended our freedoms. We will never forget their courage, and we will always stand with the men and women who sacrificed so much for our nation.”
The event brought state and local leaders together with federal officials. “We owe our Purple Heart recipients, and the families who have supported them, a debt of gratitude that can never truly be repaid,” said state Rep. Michelle Salzman.
Flagler funding
At a news conference in Flagler County, Rep. Randy Fine announced $13.5 million in beach restoration funding. He stressed that in total, he helped secure $50 million for the coastal county since his arrival in Congress in April last year.
“I represent six counties. Now, I have learned the lesson that no matter what county I’m in, I’m always supposed to say you’re the most important county because that’s what everyone expects,” the Atlantic Coast Republican joked. “But I don’t know that I’ve gotten $50 million for any other county.”
The local spending he secured there, he said, went to a series of projects.
“So you know where some of that money’s gone: it’s $662,000 for the Flagler Executive Airport, $3.7 million for the Flagler Beach Fishing Pier, $111,000 for emergency protective measures for Flagler Beach, $5.1 million for the Bunnell wastewater treatment facility and $16.6 million in authorizations for new environmental infrastructure,” he said.
Another nearly $21 million in Flagler spending has also been negotiated in a budget waiting for final passage in Congress, he said.
Gulf access
As the Army Corps of Engineers plots its Fiscal Year 2027 Work Plan, Rep. Greg Steube pressed the agency to approve the needed spending to restore the South Jetty in Venice.
The Sarasota Republican sent a letter to Adam Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army Corps of Engineers for Civil Works, stressing the environmental and economic needs for the water project. The jetty was catastrophically damaged by hurricanes in 2024.
“The Venice jetty performs critical navigational and safety functions for the communities surrounding the jetty. Serving as one of the only access points to the Gulf of America for several miles in each direction, repairing the structure is essential to restoring safe passage for first responders, vessel operators, and all who rely on access to the Intracoastal Waterway,” Steube wrote.
“Continued deterioration of the structure is a significant threat to navigation and public safety. Furthermore, the jetty is a vital economic and recreational asset for the City of Venice, Sarasota County, and the broader Southwest Florida region. Continued absence of a vital economic magnet would prove to be detrimental for the surrounding community, and full restoration is crucial in maintaining the region’s economic resilience.”
Venezuela talks
The arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, massive earthquakes that shook the nation and almost a year of global uncertainty have left little resolved in the South American nation. But negotiations kicked off last week that could set the nation’s course for years.
Rep. Brian Mast, the Stuart Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed confidence at the start of the month that Venezuela was on the right track post-Maduro. It’s an especially prominent issue in his home state, which serves as home to 49% of all Venezuelans living in the U.S.
“Thanks to President Trump and the support of the United States, Venezuela now stands at the cusp of a free, democratic future that would have been unthinkable less than a year ago,” Mast said in a statement. “I saw firsthand the hope and determination of the Venezuelan people while leading the first congressional delegation in nearly a decade.”
He reiterated the same goal as Secretary of State Marco Rubio: the transition to free and fair elections and a democratic government in the nation.
“These negotiations between Venezuela’s opposition and the interim authorities are an important step in making the democratic future Venezuelans demand a reality,” Mast said. “But they will only bear fruit if all parties come to the table in good faith and put forward a clear path toward free and fair elections.”
Huddling on housing
With rising insurance costs and years of escalating housing prices, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz convened officials in Lauderdale Lakes on Monday to discuss potential solutions.
The Broward Democrat brought in Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat who introduced the just-enacted bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, to discuss policy implementation and what still needs to be addressed in the near future.
Wasserman Schultz said the problem will require a multifaceted approach. She made clear which party she feels is seriously addressing the matter, and it’s not the one in power in Florida.
“Home insurance, rent and mortgage costs keep climbing, flooding fears only grow, and we have a Republican Legislature that ignores our problems in Tallahassee, while handcuffing any local solutions at home,” Wasserman Schultz said.
“Democrats are working to solve these problems, and that’s why I brought Congressman Cleaver here, so local leaders can work closely with us to help our hard-working families afford to put a safe, comfortable roof over their heads.”
Local officials engaged in the discussion included Pompano Beach Housing Authority Executive Director Lennard Robinson, Dania Beach Housing Authority Assistant Director Carla Pierson, and Housing Finance Authority of Broward County Director Ralph Stone.
National Association of Mortgage Brokers President Kimber White, Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence President & CEO Daniel Howe, Housing Authority of Broward County CEO Parnell Joyce, and Area Council on Aging of Broward CEO Charlotte Mather-Taylor also participated in the talks.
Friend to Taiwan
In 2021, China limited diplomatic relations with Lithuania after the country allowed Taiwan to open an embassy there. The consequences led new Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius to publicly suggest the move was “maybe too brave,” as reported by Reuters. But Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart hopes the nation stands by the decision.
The Hialeah Republican and dean of Florida’s congressional delegation co-led a letter with other co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus encouraging Lithuanian leaders to hold fast.
“Since Lithuania overturned communist rule, our countries have stood together to defend freedom and democracy in Europe, the Western Hemisphere, and the Indo-Pacific. In fact, in the face of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) bullying and coercion, our countries have stood together to support a free and democratic Taiwan,” Díaz-Balart said.
Díaz-Balart sent the letter along with Democratic Reps. Ami Bera of California and Greg Stanton of Arizona and with Republican Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky. Caucus leaders said the Eastern European nation made the right choice to break from a China-created alliance that threatened Western relations and should lead China to direct the nation now.
“Lithuania also demonstrated remarkable leadership in convincing other Baltic States to do the same. We appreciate that Lithuania has always been a strong leader among the European Union countries in opposing autocratic influences, inviting Taiwan to open its office under the name of Taiwanese Representative Office in 2021,” the letter reads.
“While we understand that the PRC continues to bully countries for maintaining any relationship with Taiwan, we respectfully urge you to consider the importance of maintaining relationships with those that share our democratic values. The PRC also continues to enable Russia’s war against Ukraine, contrary to European interests.”
ICE Tax?
A new report from immigration reform group America’s Voice found the Sunshine State has one of the largest shares of foreign-born workers in its labor force even as some of the most concerted enforcement efforts in the country play out here.
The organization’s study, titled “End the ICE Tax,” lists Florida among five states where immigrants make up the highest share of the labor force. Florida, California, Nevada, New Jersey and New York are home to roughly half the nation’s foreign-born population.
Researchers say that could explain why Florida has suffered one of the worst employment dips in the country as state and federal leaders step up immigration enforcement. America’s Voice said Florida voters should understand the connection between job losses, particularly in construction, hospitality and healthcare, and the anti-immigration policies imposed under Trump.
“Restaurants in Orlando losing nearly half their revenue, garden nurseries in Homestead sitting idle, construction sites silent and inactive, and home health aides, who make up 60% of Florida’s care workforce, swept away just as families need them most,” said Joanna Kuebler, chief of programs at America’s Voice. “It’s time for this administration to end the ICE tax and put Florida families ahead of a reckless policy that has driven up costs on everything from groceries to home healthcare.”
In Orlando, restaurants have lost an estimated 40% of their revenue because of staff resignations, the report found. Florida has the second-highest share of immigrant home health aides in the nation, 60%, behind only New York’s 74%. The report said the state’s healthcare workforce has faced the threat of deportation as demand for services keeps growing.
Meanwhile, construction employment across the five hardest-hit states has fallen 1.3% since the start of the Trump administration, according to the report, even as the rest of the country grew its workforce by 3.3%. Single-family home permits in those five states fell 9.2% between June 2024 and June 2026, while permits elsewhere rose 3%.
On this day
Aug. 11, 1984 — “Ronald Reagan’s joke leads to red alert” via NBC News — The President was joking his way through an audio check, saying “I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” The story became world news, a major item on Moscow television where the joke was not treated as a laughing matter. On Aug. 15, a coded message left Soviet military headquarters in Vladivostok. It said in part, “We now embark on military action against the U.S. forces.” We and Japanese intelligence instantly broke the code. A special command unit went on wartime alert.
Aug. 11, 1934 — “Federal prisoners land on Alcatraz” via History.com — A group classified as “most dangerous” arrived at Alcatraz Island, a 22-acre rocky outcrop situated 1.5 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay. The convicts — the first civilian prisoners to be housed in the high-security penitentiary — joined a few dozen military prisoners left over from the island’s days as a military prison. Beginning in 1859, an Army detachment was garrisoned there, and from 1868 Alcatraz was used to house military criminals. In addition to recalcitrant U.S. soldiers, prisoners included rebellious Indian scouts, American soldiers fighting in the Philippines who had deserted to the Filipino cause, and Chinese civilians who resisted the Army during the Boxer Rebellion.
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Peter Schorsch publishes Delegation, compiled by Jacob Ogles, edited and assembled by Phil Ammann and Ryan Nicol.
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