Former acting Attorney General John Guard’s bid to serve on the Florida Supreme Court is moving ahead without questions about his role in money moving from a Medicaid settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation.

But that doesn’t mean the issue isn’t affecting his path forward.

Guard interviewed with the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission as one of several candidates to potentially replace Justice Charles T. Canady.

Guard, who is the chief deputy AG for the state, had faced questions over the optics of the unorthodox $10 million appropriation that ultimately was used for political advertising in 2024 before being selected for a U.S. District Court judgeship by President Donald Trump.

The White House reportedly didn’t want a “nasty confirmation fight” while the issue was in suspense, sources said in October while explaining a pause in the nomination moving forward since June.

While Guard said he doesn’t know why his bid has been slow-walked, he is willing to walk away if that helps assure the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission that he wants this job.

“I don’t know why it has not gone through confirmation. It’s not something other than to tell me that they still fully support me and await my confirmation. I don’t have any details of when that will occur,” Guard said.

“My understanding is that the Governor’s Office is going to consider whatever list this Commission produces first, and then proceed to the 2nd DCA (Second District Court of Appeals) list. And so, I have presumed from the beginning that if I’m selected for any of these spots where if my confirmation all of a sudden goes warp speed, whichever occurs first is where I’m going to end up and likely be. If that means that I need to call the White House Counsel’s Office and tell them that I would request the President to withdraw my nomination, that’s what I will do.”

Guard was among those subpoenaed over his role in the Hope Florida scandal. He signed the controversial settlement with Medicaid insurer Centene, but not before privately raising concerns, according to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times, which obtained emails documenting the conversations.

The emails show Guard removed references to his office in drafts of the settlement in a series of back-and-forth conversations over the course of 22 days. 

Guard said there was nothing in his background that could embarrass the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration should he ultimately be appointed to replace Canady, who left the court to become a director and a tenured professor at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.

Guard also said his first choice was the one he interviewed for Monday.

“I think the best legal job is probably to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. And I say that because you’re the head of the judicial branch. You’re kind of responsible for helping with the legitimacy of our core system and maintaining the rule of law,” Guard said.

“If I were to rank them … I would say Supreme Court Justice, District Court Judge, and District Court of Appeals Judge. But I think between the District Court and the District Court of Appeals, there’s not that much difference,” he added.

Guard also said irate citizens were the biggest problem the judiciary faces, though he said the Florida Supreme Court itself does a “pretty good job” of mitigating the threat.

“I’ve heard from the Chief Justice that threats are up at the Florida Supreme Court. I’ve heard that there are threats at courthouses around the state, and so I think that is probably the biggest kind of threat, which is a threat to the legitimacy and the role of courts,” he said.

Much of the interview focused on Guard’s admiration for the late SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia, though Guard did break with the conservative icon on certain First Amendment cases, in which Scalia sided with “more liberal” colleagues.

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Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, as Washington looks to create fresh momentum for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that could be in danger of stalling out before a complicated second phase.

Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate to try to leverage his strong relationship with Netanyahu and look for ways to speed up the peace process, especially as Israel’s leader has been accused of not pushing his side to move fast enough.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that Trump has championed has mostly held, but progress has slowed recently. Both sides accuse one another of violations, and divisions have emerged among the U.S., Israel and Arab countries about the path forward.

The truce’s first phase began in October, days after the two-year anniversary of the initial Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people. All but one of the 251 hostages taken then have been released, alive or dead.

Now comes the next, far more complicated part. Trump’s 20-point plan — which was approved by the U.N. Security Council — lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas’ rule of Gaza.

The two leaders also could discuss non-Gaza topics, including Iran, whose nuclear capabilities Trump continues to insist were “completely and fully obliterated” following U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites in June.

There are many key facets of the ceasefire’s second phase that Israel’s leader doesn’t support or has even openly opposed, said Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“This is going to be a really tall order, I think, for President Trump to get Netanyahu to agree,” she said.

“How he does that, what kind of pressure he puts on Netanyahu, I think, is going to be important to watch for,” said Yacoubian, who also said the two could exhibit ”a broader clash of approaches to the region.”

Next phase remains complex

If successful, the second phase would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision by a group chaired by Trump and known as the Board of Peace. The Palestinians would form a “technocratic, apolitical” committee to run daily affairs in Gaza, under Board of Peace supervision.

It further calls for normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world, and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence. Then there are thorny logistical and humanitarian questions, including rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza, disarming Hamas and creating a security apparatus called the International Stabilization Force.

The Board of Peace would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction under a two-year, renewable U.N. mandate. Its members had been expected to be named by the end of the year and might even be revealed following Monday’s meeting, but the announcement could be pushed into next month.

Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to meet Trump at the White House in his second term, but this will be their first in-person meeting since Trump went to Israel in October to mark the start of the ceasefire’s initial phase. Netanyahu has been to Mar-a-Lago before, including in July 2024 when Trump was still seeking reelection.

Much remains unsettled

Their latest meeting comes after U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and the President’s son in law, Jared Kushner, recently huddled in Florida with officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have been mediating the ceasefire.

Two main challenges have complicated moving to the second phase, according to an official who was briefed on those meetings. Israeli officials have been taking a lot of time to vet and approve members of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list given to them by the mediators, and Israel continues its military strikes.

Trump’s plan also calls for the International Stabilization Force, proposed as a multinational body, to maintain security. But it, too, has yet to be formed. Whether details will be forthcoming after Monday’s meeting is unclear.

A Western diplomat said there is a “huge gulf” between the U.S.-Israeli understanding of the International Stabilization Force’s mandate and that of other major countries in the region, as well as European governments.

All spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that haven’t been made public.

The U.S. and Israel want the force to have a “commanding role” in security duties, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups. But countries being courted to contribute troops fear that mandate will make it an “occupation force,” the diplomat said.

Hamas has said it is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its arsenal of weapons, but insists it has a right to armed resistance as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory. One U.S. official said a potential plan might be to offer cash incentives in exchange for weapons, echoing a “buy-back” program Witkoff has previously floated.

Questions about Gaza reconstruction

Israeli bombardment and ground operations have transformed neighborhoods in several Gaza cities into rubble-strewn wastelands, with blackened shells of buildings and mounds of debris stretching in all directions.

Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are pressing for a negotiated deal on disarming Hamas, and on an additional Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before moving to next elements of the plan. Those include deployment of the international security force and reconstruction, three Arab officials told The Associated Press.

That appears to run against ideas floated by U.S. officials to quickly start building temporary housing for Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza still controlled by Israeli troops. Three officials said the United Arab Emirates has agreed to fund reconstruction in Gaza, including new communities, although they said discussions are ongoing and plans remain unsettled.

A proposed map created by the U.S. and obtained by the AP shows an area labelled “UAE Temporary Emirates housing complex” inside an Israeli-controlled area of Gaza. The map shows a “U.S. planned community area” surrounding the UAE area.

An Arab official said he was aware of the map, but said it was a suggestion from the U.S. and Israel that was put to the Emiratis and other countries.

The UAE did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether it has agreed to the plans or to fund the communities. It is not known if the money would be contingent on gestures from Israel and Hamas, such as a commitment to Palestinian statehood or disarmament.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press

For yet another year, it was hard to nail down what the biggest stories locally were.

In one sense, the scene was static. Jacksonville’s City Council and Mayor continued to spar, but it’s called a strong Mayor government for a reason.

In another sense, we’re in what stock traders call a consolidation period, as plans are laid for 2026’s state elections and 2027’s local vote.

We now have plenty of sample size to deduce that Jacksonville’s current Democratic Mayor likely isn’t politically vulnerable in the way Alvin Brown might have been during equivalent points in his first and only term in City Hall … though there’s still time to change that.

Here are the Top 10 Jacksonville stories of 2025:

— Deegan holds on (No. 1): It’s almost time for prospective 2027 opponents to get in the race to replace Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. Otherwise, they had better reconcile themselves to a full eight years and the reality that they will never be elected to replace her. Deegan weathered a series of storms that were seen as potentially difficult, such as the back-and-forth about General Counsel Michael Fackler and the handgun registry that seemed like such a big deal last Spring but hasn’t led to much. But in the end, who has stood up ahead of 2027? Elections Supervisor Jerry Holland is telling people he’s running, but whether he gets meaningful donor class support remains to be seen. Other Republicans are dipping their toes in the water. But anyone who gets in right now is doing so as a serious underdog, and at a time when indications are that there is little momentum for them.

— Curry complications (No. 2): Former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry didn’t go away after leaving City Hall … and it’s to Deegan’s detriment. Curry, a former Republican Party of Florida Chair, wasn’t thrilled when Ballard Partners lost lobbying contracts when Deegan was elected, and he has stepped up his critiques since. He says he doesn’t want to run for Mayor. But also says he would win if he did run. Deegan and Curry have squabbled over policy issues for more than two years now. Curry took a leading role in advocating for a 1/8 mill property tax cut that the current administration supported. Deegan modified pension reform that Curry pushed through by creating a path for police and fire to enter the Florida Retirement System. If a serious opponent emerges for Deegan, Curry could be a problem. But as of right now, that’s a big if.

— Stadium vindication (No. 3): The Jacksonville Jaguars at this writing have a path to the top seed in the playoffs. While Denver still has pole position despite the Jags going into Mile High and scoring a statement win, the Jaguars won the biggest game of the season on the road and left the Broncos looking as bad as they have all year. In terms of sports, this is the ultimate feel-good story for a city that derives more of its identity from its NFL team than anywhere else south of Green Bay. But its political punch is even bigger. Those who were skeptical about spending money on a stadium renovation and pushing back pension payments to do so look to have lost the argument to those who prioritize the NFL over everything else.

— Wiles’ world (No. 4): The Most Powerful Woman in the World? That’s what President Donald Trump calls her and we close out 2025 not looking to argue with him. There may have been bumps in the road courtesy of Vanity Fair, but the fact is that a local still holds one of the most important political positions anywhere. This would have been the top story perhaps if Jacksonville’s local government had managed to get anything out of this unique, and necessarily temporary, dynamic. But it’s hard to imagine a Democratic Mayor being able to, given the partisan pique that characterizes the entire political process these days.

— School daze (No. 5): The Duval County School Board has become more assertive in recent months. On issues ranging from decisions to close underused schools to asserting the need for its own legal representation, the right-of-center Board has forced locals to think about education in a different way … even those who don’t have students in schools. Individual Board members like Chair Charlotte Joyce have stepped up to defend prerogatives of the panel despite resistance from the City Council. What does this ultimately lead to? At this point, that’s an open question. But it’s one this current permutation of the Board will force.

— Renner’s run (No. 6): He’s not the front-runner in the Governor’s race, but former House Speaker Paul Renner may prove to have staying power. The one-time candidate for the House from Jacksonville’s Westside drew his share of scoffing when he announced his candidacy this year. But his quiet, socially conservative leadership is keeping him in the game without endorsements from Gov. Ron DeSantis (who, when Renner announced his campaign, asked “Governor of what?”) and President Donald Trump, who backs Byron Donalds.

— Go Gators (No. 7): By this time next year, operations should be humming at Jacksonville’s downtown graduate campus for the University of Florida, transforming Lavilla as we know it. Business, health care and engineering degrees will emerge, along with the Florida Semiconductor Institute. A total of $300 million of public and private money has already been committed to the build, and by the end of the decade, we won’t be able to remember what Jacksonville was like without it.

— Nixon’s next move (No. 8): Arguably the most left-wing politician to get elected in Jacksonville history, state Rep. Angie Nixon of House District 13 has not been especially effective in Tallahassee. So she’s exploring going to Washington as a candidate for U.S. Senate, or to the Jacksonville City Council in 2027. She’s been doing a listening tour around the state to figure it out or road test her message. Nature abhors a vacuum, however, and two political vets — former state Sen. Audrey Gibson and former Councilman Reggie Gaffney — are vying for her seat.

— Bowling over (No. 9): Was it a power struggle in the Mayor’s Office? Chief Administrative Officer Karen Bowling was the biggest name to leave the Deegan administration in 2025, and for a time there was a lot of talk. Republicans who hadn’t praised anything in the Mayor’s Office suddenly had plenty of compliments. People closer to the Mayor’s Office said her departure essentially was addition by subtraction, questioning her work ethic. It’s Mike Weinstein’s job now … but aren’t they all in the end?

— Budget compromise (No. 10): Divided government often leads to paralysis, then compromise. A good example of that this year was when the Jacksonville City Council passed its Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget. While conservatives got a 1/4 mill cut on property taxes, the main event of the evening ultimately went against them. Republican Rory Diamond carried through on his proposal to stop city funding for abortions and related services, so-called diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and undocumented immigrants, but Democrats and a few Republican members held firm. Ultimately, the spending plan passed without the culture war language.