AT&T is expanding its 5G network in Florida and increasing service speeds.

The company has added 40 new cell sites in the Sunshine State in the past three months and provided 200 upgrades to expand 5G mobile phone and data coverage across Florida. Those upgrades are being provided to residents using data for computers and mobile phones, as well as for businesses. The public safety network known as FirstNet is also being upgraded as part of the AT&T project.

“Bringing these new sites online reflects our commitment to invest in the infrastructure that keeps Floridians connected,” said Joe York, President of AT&T Florida.

“Every new site we activate strengthens the experience for the people who live and work here while also giving first responders on FirstNet the dedicated coverage and capacity they rely on. We’re proud to continue expanding our network in these communities and to support the critical work happening across Florida to improve public safety, economic opportunity, and quality of life.”

The Florida AT&T enhancements will also bring Band 14 spectrum to the impacted areas. Band 14 is the high-quality data spectrum dedicated to FirstNet. It’s the only nationwide network for communications for public safety agencies. Band 14 is used in emergencies and utilized exclusively by the agencies subscribing to FirstNet.

FirstNet was established by Congress in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. It was built by AT&T in a public-private partnership with the FirstNet Authority for nationwide communications for public safety agencies.

Between 2020 and 2024, AT&T poured $5.5 billion into wireless networks in Florida to enhance reliability coverage and speed for both residential and business services.

The new AT&T cell sites are located in about two dozen counties, including Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Franklin, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lake, Manatee, Marion, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Polk, Sarasota, St. Johns, Volusia and Washington.

It didn’t take Elijah Manley long to capitalize on what he sees as an unscrupulous misstep by the Congresswoman he’s running to unseat in Florida’s 20th Congressional District.

Just days after Florida Politics reported that U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is fundraising off of federal charges that she stole millions in COVID funds, Manley is also asking for campaign donations while citing the report.

“Yup, she tried to pull a fast one on you,” a fundraising email from Manley’s campaign said.

“The thing is, we can’t count on the establishment media to get this story in front of every voter. But we can count on each other.”

The email, which includes a big “DONATE” button, then provides a link to the Florida Politics report, asking readers to share it, adding, “Let’s make sure everyone in our district knows the truth.”

Asked for comment, Manley sent a text: “The #SCAMQueen is trying to take voters’ hard-earned money in the middle of an affordability crisis to pay for her criminal legal fees. Unfortunately for her, the voters in FL-20 are not naïve. They know a SCAM when they see one.”

A grand jury indicted Cherfilus-McCormick in November, accusing her of stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to bankroll her 2021 congressional campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, has maintained she is innocent of wrongdoing, calling the charges “unjust” and “baseless” and a form of “retaliation” for her vote to release files connected to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Notably, none of the 426 other members of the U.S. House was indicted after voting “yes” on that release last month.

Hostilities between Cherfilus-McCormick and Manley, 26, have persisted for months. In September, the Congresswoman sued Manley for $1 million, accusing him of defamation for spreading “blatant lies” about her record and reputation. The suit cited a video Manley’s campaign published of him saying, among other things, that Cherfilus-McCormick “took $5.7 million from taxpayers” and a letter he wrote to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel pointing to an ongoing House Ethics Committee probe of her.

In the letter, Manley wrote that while he once “rooted for” Cherfilus-McCormick, he no longer does because “the Democrats’ collapse in our state has coincided with her election and the many ethical and legal scandals she brought to Congress.”

The two then got into a heated exchange in October at a Broward Young Democrats meeting that ended with Cherfilus-McCormick slinging the classic insult at Manley: “Your mama.”

The ongoing lawsuit isn’t the first time the Congresswoman has sued a foe for keeping word of the accusations she faces alive. In July 2022, she sued another one of her Primary foes this year, 68-year-old Dale Holness, for $1 million over campaign texts that told voters she embezzled $6 million from taxpayers to “buy a seat in Congress.” That suit has been listed as “inactive” since mid-2023.

Two Republicans, Sendra Dorce and Joseph Rodenay, are also running this cycle.

CD 20 spans a majority-Black area in and around western and central Broward County, with a small portion of southeast Palm Beach County. It includes all or part of Fort Lauderdale, Lake Park, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, North Lauderdale, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Riviera Beach, Sunrise and Tamarac.

It’s Florida’s most Democratic-leaning congressional district, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+22.

Cherfilus-McCormick, the first Haitian American woman from Florida elected to Congress, has represented Florida’s 20th Congressional District since January 2022. She won her seat in a Special Election following the death of Alcee Hastings. Last year, she was re-elected unopposed.

The 2026 Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.

Florida Republicans are rallying around White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles after an attention-grabbing profile in Vanity Fair.

After Wiles called the article a “hit piece,” many longtime associates said she still deserves the confidence of President Donald Trump.

“Susie Wiles has been a close friend of mine for years. I’ve been proud to fight alongside her in support of President Trump since we started serving as Florida co-chairs of his campaign back in 2015,” posted Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters, who served in 2016 as co-Chair of the Florida arm of Trump’s campaign.

“Nothing can derail the great work President Trump and his team, led by Susie, have done to get America back on track. It’s not going to work. Anyone who knows Susie knows that she is a patriot, tough, and brilliant. She is the best White House Chief of Staff I’ve ever seen.”

Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, was among multiple party operatives who went to a meeting at the White House shortly after the Vanity Fair piece was published. That piece quotes Wiles through a series of on-the-record conversations, including remarks that Trump had an “alcoholic’s personality.” Wiles said many of the remarks were taken out of context.

Donald Trump Jr., the President’s son and a Jupiter resident, offered full-throated support of Wiles after the piece ran.

“When Susie took over my father’s political operation after J6, people forget how many ‘Republicans’ were treating him like a pariah. Countless operatives, consultants and elected Republicans thought my dad’s political career was over and wanted nothing to do with him. They attacked him ruthlessly and predicted that he would lose if he ran for office in 2024,” the younger Trump said.

“Not Susie. She was a loyal fighter for him from the moment she came on board. When things were tough and other supposed friends left my dad like a bunch of rats, Susie stood by his side and worked her ass off everyday to rebuild his political operation and ensure that his comeback in 2024 would be successful. When others cowered, she stood strong.”

Another source close to the White House suggested there is no rattled confidence in Wiles’ leadership.

“Susie has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with President Trump through weaponized lawfare, assassination attempts, and smear campaigns,” the source said. “She is private and doesn’t speak to the press — so the public may not understand her leadership and her relentless pursuit to deliver for President Trump and his America First Agenda.”

Meanwhile, Republican allies on the Hill rushed to her defense as well.

“Susie is a fantastic chief of staff, and she is doing a great job helping President Trump accomplish his agenda. She is smart, fearless and loyal. It’s disheartening to see the press come after her, but frankly, not surprising,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott posted. “Vanity Fair is the same publication that writes puff pieces on antisemite Hasan Piker, who told his followers to kill me. Susie Wiles is crushing it!”

Wiles notably ran Scott’s first campaign for Governor in 2010.

Other Republicans boasting strong support in Trump circles also rushed to the Chief of Staff’s defense. U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called herself part of “Team Susie.” Luna’s 2020 campaign for Congress was managed by James Blair, now Wiles’ Deputy White House Chief of Staff.

And U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican who Trump endorsed for Florida Governor in 2026, also defended Wiles.

“Susie Wiles is a legend, a trailblazer and I’m honored to call her a friend,” he posted. “Last November, she engineered the greatest political comeback in US history and as White House Chief of Staff, she’s delivering

President Trump’s America First Agenda. Thank you for your consummate leadership.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, a New Smyrna Republican weathering his own scandals, also put in his support.

“Susie Wiles has done more for conservatives and American politics than anyone,” Mills posted. “She supported the greatest American comeback and has stood by President Trump through all odds. These attacks against her are a testament to her successes.”