Florida’s foreign policy hard-liners are celebrating this week.

President Donald Trump has dispatched three U.S. Navy destroyers to waters off Venezuela in a bid to confront narcotics cartels linked to the Maduro regime. In a state heavily influenced by the Venezuelan American communities — a voting bloc that prizes anti-socialist posturing — leaders are seizing on this moment.

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody hailed the move, saying it demonstrated that “America’s days of turning a blind eye to drug trafficking are over,” pointing to the deployment as a decisive strike “at the source” of fentanyl and other deadly substances.

U.S Rep. Carlos Giménez leaned in even harder, posting that the deployment has tightened the “noose” around “dictator Nicolás Maduro & his narco regime.”

“What will the tyrant Nicolás Maduro do when the three U.S. destroyer ships arrive at Venezuela’s coasts? Nicolás, you buffoon, flee to Cuba before it’s too late,” Giménez added.

That type of bombast appeals directly to the state’s exile-heavy electorate often personally impacted by Maduro’s policies. But it also demonstrates the ongoing battle over isolation versus intervention within the Republican Party, and even in Trump’s own mind.

This could lead to a major escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. And in a state where Latin America politics and national politics blur, it’s looking to be a major issue heading into 2026.

Now, it’s onto our weekly game of winners and losers.

Winners

Honorable mention: Bryan Griffin. Florida’s tourism machine just posted another milestone, with a record 34.4 million visitors in the second quarter of 2025. That includes more than 31 million domestic travelers and a double-digit percentage jump in overseas visitors.

It’s the kind of number that underscores how central tourism is to the state’s economy. It also puts a spotlight on VISIT FLORIDA’s new chief.

Griffin stepped into the CEO role only weeks ago after serving as DeSantis’ Communications Director, and he inherits an agency riding high. The record quarter isn’t solely his doing, but as the face of Florida’s tourism efforts, he’ll be tasked with keeping that momentum going amid unpredictable economic conditions and the current threat of a projected active hurricane season.

His political savvy and messaging experience could help him make the case for continued investment in tourism marketing when lawmakers gather next Session, as the agency has faced defunding threats for years.

The latest numbers suggest Florida’s appeal remains broad, despite its polarizing place at the top of the culture war totem pole. And Griffin benefits from taking the reins at a high-water mark.

If he can translate that into sustained growth and navigate the political pressures that come with leading the agency, he’ll be able to stand out not just as an ally of the Governor, but solidify his reputation as someone who can deliver results in one of Florida’s most important industries.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Mike Caruso. DeSantis’ choice to lead Palm Beach County’s Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller’s Office is breaking new ground, as Caruso is the first Republican ever to hold the office in a historically Democratic county.

But the appointment doesn’t come entirely out of the blue. Caruso’s move follows a legislative career marked by loyalty to DeSantis — including a rare dissenting vote against House leadership — that reportedly cost him a committee Chair position but signaled alignment with the Governor’s priorities.

Caruso hit the ground running in his new gig. On Day 1, he administered oaths to over 200 deputy clerks and began settling into his new responsibilities.

Caruso, a certified public accountant, was facing term limits in the House. He’ll now step away a year early to take on the new role, vacating his House District 87 seat in the process.

That will require a Special Election for his HD 87 seat. Notably, his wife, Tracy Caruso — an established civic figure — was already running for the seat in the 2026 cycle and will likely enter the Special Election. But she’ll face fierce competition from financial planner Jon Maples, who is easily leading the field in fundraising and is also trying to position himself for a Trump endorsement.

Whether Mike Caruso gets a win by seeing his wife succeed him, however, is an issue for down the line. For now, he’s landed a solid gig to cushion his exit from the Legislature — albeit one that is already courting challengers.

The biggest winner: Joe Gruters. It’s official. At its Summer meeting in Atlanta, the Republican National Committee (RNC) unanimously elected the Sarasota Republican to serve as RNC Chair.

The move reinforces Trump’s influence on the party machinery. Gruters, who stepped down from his role as RNC Treasurer to become Chair, ran unopposed and secured the top leadership role in a voice vote. He succeeds Michael Whatley, who is departing to pursue a Senate run in North Carolina with Trump’s backing.

Gruters has long supported Trump — backing him early during the 2016 Presidential Election and later co-chairing Trump’s Florida campaign alongside Susie Wiles, now the President’s Chief of Staff. As Florida GOP Chair from 2019 to 2023, Gruters oversaw a substantial surge in Republican voter registration, helping lead to Republicans overtaking Democrats in registration.

Gruters even played up his Florida ties, pledging to “expand our Republican majority” and adapt Florida’s winning playbook for national races. State Republicans have long pushed for the U.S. to adopt the “Florida model” in myriad ways. Gruters will now have the opportunity to see that it’s done.

His ascension gives him a leading role in carrying out the President’s plans just as the 2026 Midterms and 2028 Presidential Election cycle loom. With a figure as volatile as Trump, that can be seen as a risky proposition.

But Whatley just springboarded to the leading GOP candidate running for Senate. So there is a path for Gruters to advance further beyond this post while also serving in a pivotal role at an important time for Republicans.

Losers

Dishonorable mention: Judith Fike. She was suspended, urged to resign, then reinstated and is now out of a job after voters booted Fike from the District 4 seat on the Groveland City Council.

Fike’s brief and turbulent tenure on the City Council ended in a landslide defeat, the culmination of self-inflicted wounds and controversy she never managed to outrun. Appointed in December to fill the District 4 vacancy, Fike quickly became a lightning rod after old Facebook posts resurfaced showing racist memes and another mocking the victims of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub massacre with a crude joke about the LGBTQ community.

Fike claimed the posts were part of a smear campaign. Well, perhaps, but she did own up to writing them. So if they’re an effective smear, maybe the fault is in the author rather than those who brought attention to her own words.

After being suspended from the Council, she won reinstatement on a legal technicality — a Judge ruled the Council lacked the authority to remove her — but voters weren’t interested. In Tuesday’s Primary, she limped to a humiliating third-place finish with just 14% of the vote, while retired Navy veteran Jim O’Neil and former code writer Michael Jaycox claimed about 50% and 36%, respectively.

For an incumbent, that kind of showing is brutal. Fike’s brief time on the Council ends with voters soundly rejecting her — and for good reason.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: James Uthmeier.

Uthmeier lands here this week by association after a federal Judge ordered the state to begin winding down the controversial Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in the Everglades.

In a sweeping preliminary injunction, Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that the facility’s remote location and hasty construction violated environmental laws, halting its expansion and directing that fencing, lighting and other infrastructure after winding down the facility’s population within 60 days.

Uthmeier helped brand the facility as Alligator Alcatraz and earned plaudits from the President on his work. The ruling, for now, is a major setback to Uthmeier’s signature initiative. But he says the state has already appealed the decision, so we’ll have to wait and see how future proceedings play out.

After the ruling, Uthmeier lashed out on social media, calling the Judge’s decision “unlawful,” insisting Florida would continue to “detain, deport, and deliver for the American people.”

But the injunction not only freezes operations, it also underlines serious legal and financial questions about the detainment center. With hundreds of millions already committed to contracts and construction, the ruling leaves Uthmeier defending both his judgment and taxpayer dollars. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, who brought the suit, hailed the decision as a victory for the Everglades and tribal sovereignty.

For Uthmeier, this isn’t just a legal setback; it’s a political one. His marquee project is now in limbo, and he’ll have to hope Judges up the chain don’t see things the same way as Williams.

The biggest loser: Ron DeSantis. Even by the standards of a Governor who constantly battles through confrontation — often of his own making — this week was not a good look for DeSantis. And it wasn’t just opponents incensed with the Governor; allies were left scratching their heads as well.

We mentioned Alligator Alcatraz, and that was as much a loss for DeSantis as it was for Uthmeier, as the Governor even nuked his relationships in the Legislature earlier this year trying to position Florida as leading a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Then came the situation in Orlando. The Florida Department of Transportation quietly painted over the Pulse nightclub rainbow crosswalk overnight, without even notifying local leaders. Officials learned about the removal after the fact.

Supporters may back it as an effort to remove political messaging from Florida roadways. But critics saw it as the state bulldozing a community memorial for 49 murder victims. And if a local community wants to paint streets a certain way, why is the state stepping in? Next step: swooping in to paint over your kid’s chalk drawing because they used six of the seven rainbow colors during playtime.

DeSantis also announced this week — finally — that the state would fly flags at half-staff for the late Democratic Rep. Joe Casello. The well-deserved honor comes a month after Casello died and weeks after the Governor gave the same order following Hulk Hogan’s death, even though Casello died six days before Hogan. Guess we know where DeSantis’ priorities lie.

Even Republicans were ready to pay tribute to Casello as soon as he passed. The Governor could only muster the same level of sympathy for a former wrestler turned beer entrepreneur.

Then there were the leaked texts, first obtained by Florida Politics, showing Lt. Gov. Jay Collins appearing to agree that DeSantis has Asperger’s. DeSantis’ online army tried to frame this as a media attack on those with Asperger’s (far from it) and tried to say Collins’ words were taken out of context, even though his camp did not dispute the story’s authenticity.

We simply reported what the texts showed. DeSantis’ online warriors tried to preemptively frame the story as negative and through all their complaining, only served to amplify the Lieutenant Governor’s take on the Governor.

Then came DeSantis’ perplexing decision to skip the celebration of life for John Thrasher — a former House Speaker, FSU President and pillar of the GOP establishment.

Now in fairness, days later, DeSantis posthumously recognized Thrasher and four other Florida icons with the Governor’s Medal of Freedom. So it’s not as if he completely ignored Thrasher’s huge impact on The Process.

But why not take time to honor him in person? DeSantis’ camp even offered inconsistent reasoning for why he couldn’t attend. It was a layup of a win to just be present, and his absence shows where his priorities lie.

Individually, each of these episodes might be a one-day story. Together, they paint a picture of a Governor whose political instincts sometimes betray him: chasing fights he doesn’t need, ignoring gestures of grace that cost him nothing, and creating unnecessary controversies that distract from his wins.

For someone with national ambitions, those aren’t habits that have bred widespread support unless your name is Donald Trump. And given DeSantis’ icy relationship with the current President, it’s unlikely he’s going to get the Trump seal of approval that might allow him to wave away these vaults should he seek higher office again.

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