The Florida Roundup - DeSantis’ push on immigration, Marco Rubio as secretary of state and fact checking Biden's promises

Episode Date: January 17, 2025

This week on The Florida Roundup, we discussed Gov. DeSantis’ immigration policy proposals for a special session and the role local police will have with Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey (02:52). Then, we spoke with POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi about what to expect if Marco Rubio is confirmed as Secretary of State (24:54). Plus, we checked in with PolitiFact's Samantha Putterman to look back at President Biden’s promises (31:02). And later, we shared a collection of news from the week including updates on a proposed rate hike from Citizens Property Insurance (37:32), how local water managers are dealing with increased flooding (39:34) and a big week for the Space Coast (46:06).

Covering Florida Navigator Program provides confidential assistance for Floridians looking to explore health care coverage within the federal health insurance marketplace. Open enrollment ends January 15th, 877-813-9115 or coveringflorida.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Thanks for being here this week. Governor Ron DeSantis says it's urgent. Top lawmakers say it's premature. The issue is illegal immigration and how Florida will respond to President-elect Donald Trump's day one promise of cracking down on undocumented immigrants and deporting what could be millions of people nationwide, including hundreds of thousands from Florida. Not everyone necessarily wants to do that in every city in Florida, but we're going to say,

not only can you not be a sanctuary city, you have an affirmative obligation to step up and help. This is the governor on Wednesday. Now, the week began with him calling for a special legislative session late this month to tackle a number of issues, including immigration. Legislative leaders, though, quickly responded with a letter essentially saying lawmakers will show up, but pointing out the governor did not have any specific legislation for them to consider. Now, President-elect Trump and the governor reportedly played golf on Tuesday, and Trump thanked DeSantis for calling lawmakers back. On Wednesday, the governor released a list of proposals. We have a sense of urgency in the state of Florida. We have to come in right on the heels of the new president getting sworn into office and we need to enact

strong policies that are going to help this administration accomplish the mission that the American people spoke loudly and clearly about in November. Among his ideas, require local police to participate in the federal government's immigration efforts, create a state law making it a crime to enter the U.S. illegally, and require ID verification for any money that immigrants send back to their home countries. There's been no issue that's been higher on the radar consistently over these last four years than the immigration issue. People that have run for office in Florida have run on it. They've run against Biden's policies. They said

they're going to do something about it. Well, now's your chance. Don't say you'll get around to it in a few months. No, we need action and we need action now so what action should the state of florida take in regards to illegal immigration immigration concerns were a big issue for florida voters so what now as president trump takes the oath of office on monday 305-995-1800 305-995-1800 or our email is open the inbox is radio at the floridaroundup.org radio at the floridaroundup.org wayne ivy is along with us the sheriff of rivard county sheriff ivy welcome to the program thanks for your time today oh no thank you for having me yeah appreciate it uh how are your officers prepared to enforce immigration orders that may be issued by the president-elect Trump next week?

Well, you know, we're just standing by. You know, as Governor DeSantis said, Florida is always leading the nation in fighting crime. And we're gearing up to be ready for when that executive order comes out that we're able to respond to it. We don't want to have to react to it. We want to respond to it. So that's the governor's mission and intent. And we're excited. Not only our agency, but all of the sheriff's agencies in the state of Florida are ready to get to work. The majority of sheriff's agencies in Florida do have memorandums of understanding already in place with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. You have one from 2019 that allows your officers to do two things regarding immigration, arrest someone

on charges if they're already in your jail and about to be released on local charges and transfer a prisoner. Are you prepared to go further than those two actions that you have agreed to do on behalf of federal law enforcement? Absolutely. As soon as President Trump, if his intent is to authorize local and state law enforcement to be able to assist ICE and our federal agencies in that, we'll be prepared to go that next step. You know, as you said, we're currently a participant since 2019 with what's referred to as the 287G. But we'll be prepared. The governor has rolled out his list of initiatives. And I know we've got a great Senate and a great House that always work to fight crime in the state of Florida.

So all of them will come together and enhance what President Trump rolls out, and then we'll have some new tools and some new resources to be able to combat this. The governor has called lawmakers back on, I believe it's the 27th of January. It's the last full week in January for the special legislative session to tackle a number of topics, including immigration. The governor this week, and you were at the news conference with the governor, he says he wants to, quote, mandate maximum participation in this 287G deportation program. This is that ICE program that delegates certain federal immigration authority to local police officers such as your deputies. What do you think, Sheriff, maximum participation means? So I think maximum participation means that we're all working in the

same thing to stop illegal immigration in our country, that it doesn't give an agency the ability to, if they happen to be in a more woke area, to turn a blind eye to the criminal activity. So I think what the governor is looking to do is to make sure that every law enforcement agency and every county jail is working in the same direction and working in concert with President Trump's orders that will come down. The 287G program already allows local sheriffs and local law enforcement, such as yours, to deal with folks who are already in jail. It allows sheriff's offices to question somebody in jail if they think they're undocumented, to collect evidence like fingerprints and prepare charges and issue immigration detentions. Brevard County hasn't gone that far

with the authority under this 287g program are you negotiating to expand the authority of local law enforcement uh well we're looking at and and certainly what the press conference was with the governor on wednesday is looking at having more teeth in our ability to assist our federal partners um You know, our limited abilities in the 287G that you talked about from 2019 can be enhanced with some of these state laws that our lawmakers can put in place. So we're looking at the opportunity to expand on the teeth that we have. We're looking at the opportunity to expand our partnership. And quite frankly, you know, the boots on the ground, as I call it, the members of Customs and Border Patrol and ICE, they want to be unhandcuffed.

They want to be allowed to do their job. And we, on any other crime in the nation, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies partner together, and this should be no different. Well, Florida state law lawmakers, they're not going to pass any new regulations that are going to govern federal law enforcement, are they? No, I would not think so. Their legislation that they're looking at or that the governor's asked them to look at is some of the things that you spoke about, not being able to come in or not being able to send money out of the state of Florida, you know, those type of issues. Yeah.

Well, in Brevard County, do you expect to expand your own participation in this deportation program to allow your deputies to take fingerprints and sworn statements and other evidence? We'll expand to any extent that the law will allow us to, to help stop illegal immigration. You know, as I tell everybody, illegal immigration and the impact of it doesn't stop at the border. It filters into every community. So we will expand to the full extent that the law allows us to, and we'll put the needed resources on it to protect our community and help protect the state. Sheriff, do you think mandating participation like Governor DeSantis wants to do requires local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws?

I don't think that's the direction he's looking at. What I think the governor is looking at is, you know, getting the legislature back in there. Let's put the laws in place that we can, put the tools in place, if you will. place that we can put the the tools in place if you will and then certainly as i said there should not be any law enforcement agency that turns a blind eye to any type of crime that's taken place in our state or in our country how many suspected illegal immigrants do you estimate are in brevard county jail today you know i don't have that number um i i couldn't even start to give you a number on that um i know our area is not impacted as badly as some others throughout the state, so our number would certainly be smaller. It doesn't change the numbers that are coming into the state and the numbers that ultimately end up here.

But I think the biggest point of this is we need to be ready for whatever tools the president, our new president, gives us when the 20th gets here. Sheriff, can local law enforcement in Florida arrest someone suspected solely of crossing the U.S. border illegally? No. Ought they to be able to do that, in your opinion? Oh, I would love for them to be able to do that. I'd love for them to have the authority to enforce immigration. You know, if you look at what they're trying to do in Texas, I think it would go a long way in helping fix the problem. And it brings to the table a massive amount of resources that the federal government just doesn't have. Their numbers are

limited from customs and ICE. It would give them, it would be a force multiplier, if you will. Sheriff Ivey, thanks for your time today. I really appreciate your perspective. Absolutely. Thanks for having us. You guys have a great weekend. You as well. Wayne Ivey is the sheriff in Brevard County.

We're talking about immigration on the eve of the inauguration of President Trump and his day one promise about cracking down on illegal immigration. 305-995-1800, our phone number. Mark in Dunedin has been listening. Go ahead, Mark, you're on the radio. Thank you. My understanding is that we will be spending tax dollars, our tax dollars, to enforce the federal requirements that Trump is going to put in place. And frankly, I'm unalterably opposed to spending tax dollars for a federal problem and a federal jurisdiction. So, Mark, I'm sorry to interrupt. The argument on the other side that I think the sheriff and others would argue is there's social services that the state pays for for undocumented immigrants already.

So there's state funds that are going toward those folks that perhaps are not on the law enforcement side, but are on the social service side already. Well, I'd like to see those figures because we're very penurious on helping anybody who's marginalized. Mark, I appreciate you adding your voice to our conversation. Have a terrific weekend there in Dunedin. Martha has been listening closely from Miami. Martha, great to reconnect with you. How you been? Hi, Tom.

I'm doing fine. I have a few comments about this. We should point out you are a retired law enforcement officer. Yes, I'm a retired Miami-Dade police captain. So I think the Miami-Dade Police Department Legal Bureau would have something to say about this. I have no problem with officers in the course of their normal duty if they encounter someone that's an illegal immigrant they do what they do now they contact ICE or Border Patrol and they hold them. Corrections is also involved in that but as far as being ordered by the governor or the president of the United States

in a non-emergency situation, there's no hurricane, there's no fires, there's no national emergency, being ordered to go out and just on these collections or assisting ICE or Border Patrol, that is not the function, at least of the Miami-Dade Police Department. And I'm sure that somebody that just had their home broken into, that's injured in an accident, that's just been robbed, doesn't want the call delayed by officers being sent to a school or a place of rules or regulations on law enforcement, particularly

local law enforcement, when it comes to enforcing federal immigration laws at the state level. I'm sorry, 100% disagree with him. I don't know if he has a legal bureau and his agency that governs any questions about what his officers or his deputy sheriffs do or don't do. I know that the Miami-Dade Police Department has a great legal bureau. They do training for officers. When officers have a question, they can call them. When the new sheriff, Rosie Cordero, has a question, I hope that she relies on her legal bureau and not the directions of the governor,

who is not her boss, and the president of the United governor, who is not her boss, and the president of the United States, who is not her boss. Martha, we appreciate you adding your voice to the conversation and hope you're enjoying retirement. Thanks for your service as a local law enforcement officer. Leo has joined the conversation from Orlando. Go ahead, Leo. Great to hear from you. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity. My question is, with all this vitriol that's going around about immigrants and what have you, I am an immigrant, but I'm here legally. I was brought up here about 30 years ago for my family. stuff that's going on is this going to lead to racial profiling just because i look mexican or whatever are you just going to pull pull me over and show me some papers i mean i could see if i was committing a crime or something then yes you have all the right in the world to ask whatever you want you know as law enforcement people but just because i look in a certain way, I mean, I don't think this country was

found on those premises, do you? Leo, I appreciate the question, the number of constitutional questions that this is going to spark. And certainly, folks are awaiting what may come out of the executive office on Monday or Tuesday of next week with the president-elect and the constitutional challenges that are likely to come from that. In fact, Governor DeSantis referred to some of those in his comments as well. Eric in Fort Lauderdale, you've been patient with us. We want to hear from you. Go ahead, Eric, on line one, you're on the radio. Yes, well, I'm grateful that we're talking about border security. Obviously, Florida shares a border with both Georgia and Alabama,

and I don't want my daughter growing up to be a fan of the Crimson Tide or the Georgia Bulldogs, so I'm really grateful. A little lighthearted comment there, Eric. I appreciate you. Indeed. And more seriously, I wish that we could get anyone in Tallahassee to take as seriously something like the housing insurance crisis that's going on. If we could get people to do their job on that and spend the time that they're wasting on this, that would be outstanding. Eric, thanks so much for joining the conversation there. A little bit of levity, a little bit of seriousness there from Eric in Fort Lauderdale. You can always send us your comments at radio at the Florida Roundup dot o r g radio at the Florida Roundup dot org. Of course, this local public radio station will be covering President-elect Trump's inauguration on Monday.

And of all of the news that is expected to happen, and of course, the impact here in Florida, we will continue to talk about it here on the Florida Roundup. But we'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on this radio at the Florida Roundup.org. Now one idea the governor DeSantis endorsed is repealing a state law allowing undocumented students to pay in state tuition at public universities. 11 years ago, Florida lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a law that offered, quote, students who were undocumented for federal immigration purposes, end quote, in-state tuition as long as they went to

and graduated from a Florida high school. Now, the sponsor of that measure, Jeanette Nunez, is now the lieutenant governor of the state. And among those voting for that bill was Manny Diaz. And today, he's the commissioner of education here in Florida, which includes oversight of the state's And among those voting for that bill was Manny Diaz. And today he's the commissioner of education here in Florida, which includes oversight of the state's colleges and universities. Republican State Senator Randy Fine wants to go further than just the change of tuition. He has also proposed a separate bill stopping some undocumented students from even attending some

state universities. Why should an illegal immigrant get a spot at the University of Florida that a Floridian or an American could be taking? It just doesn't seem right. And so this will make sure that we're prioritizing those scarce resources to actual Floridians, actual Americans, actual people who follow our laws. Now, the bill would ban public colleges and universities here in Florida with an acceptance rate of less than 85% from accepting undocumented students. Now that would capture all 12 of Florida State Universities according to acceptance data that was posted this week by the U.S. Department of Education, but not state colleges here in Florida.

Radio at thefloridaroundup.org is again our email. If you have any other questions please see us there in the inbox we do look at that inbox and we in fact answer those questions and also use them for future topics here noon eastern time monday is when donald trump will be sworn back in to take the oath of office he is expected to issue a series of executive orders, including those dealing with immigration. We've got a special edition of the Florida Roundup coming up in February, early February the 7th. It's a live in-person edition at Zoo Miami. If you happen to find yourself in Dade County, we'd love to see you there. February 7th, some live music, politics, and yes, even animals. You can get more information at WLRN.org. It's free. You

can register there at WLRN.org. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida public radio station. Covering Florida Navigator Program provides confidential assistance for Floridians looking to explore health care coverage within the federal health insurance marketplace. Open enrollment ends January 15th, 877-813-9115. We're covering florida.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Thanks as always for being along with us. Florida will have an outsized role in foreign policy for the Trump administration. Several Floridians have been tapped to fill important roles as diplomats representing America to the rest of the world, including the person Trump wants to be his top diplomat, Florida Senator Marco Rubio. He's been nominated to be Secretary of State. His

nomination hearings began Wednesday this week in the Senate. Senator Rubio has years of foreign policy experience on Capitol Hill, but the same cannot really be said for President-elect Trump's other Florida-based foreign policy choices. Tim Padgett reports now from our partner station WLRN in Miami. When President-elect Trump takes office next week, Florida will be a focus of his diplomatic agenda for non-controversial reasons, like his nomination of Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and controversial ones like this. Just before Christmas, Panamanian President Jose Raul Molino had to respond to Trump's bizarre threat to seize the Panama Canal. The U.S. handed the canal to Panama in 1999 under a treaty,

so international law experts say Trump's intent to take it back is largely preposterous. But Molino was also struck by Trump's nominee for take it back is largely preposterous. But Molina was also struck by Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to Panama, 34-year-old Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera, who Molina quipped is, quote, younger than my son. People close to Molina's government say the Panamanian president is most concerned about Cabrera's notable diplomatic inexperience. That and Cabrera's fierce loyalty to Trump has many worried Trump will be more domineering than diplomatic with a staunch U.S. ally that Trump accuses, falsely, of using the canal to, quote, rip us off.

It is gumbo diplomacy all over again. We are back in the 19th century. Alonso Iueka is an international law expert at the Santa Maria La Antigua University in Panama City. He says since a U.S. takeover of the canal is highly unlikely, Trump ought to reconsider Cabrera's nomination and take Panama more seriously, as China does. The Chinese are recognizing the geostrategic importance of this tiny Central American country. So in that regard, I encourage the new Trump

administration to just consider what are their strategic objectives by appointing Cabrera. Cabrera says he's eager to, quote, uphold Trump's bold approach to international diplomacy. And many point out Trump has tapped other South Floridians for ambassadorships who have no foreign service on their resumes. Two other Miami Cuban Americans, Benjamín León Jr., nominated for Spain, and Peter Lamelas, picked for Argentina, are health care entrepreneurs. West Palm Beach insurance entrepreneur Robin Bernstein was Trump's ambassador to the Dominican Republic in his first presidency. They don't maybe have, quote, diplomatic experience, but we have real world experience dealing with people of high rank, diplomacy, courtesy,

and integrity. Bernstein argues even if Trump's South Florida ambassador selections aren't diplomatic experts, they are, given where they live, Latin America and Caribbean experts. She says Trump's picks in that sense signal the region will matter in his next White House. I think Latin America unfortunately has, has been overlooked. And we understand tourism. We understand natural disasters, certainly hurricanes, the threat of human trafficking, drugs. I'm glad there is an emphasis on South Florida. But other former U.S. ambassadors in Latin America warn that the post-Trump is nominated Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Cabrera for Panama Panama, involves that diplomatically

trickier issue mentioned earlier, communist China. When I was in Panama, the Chinese sent a gray wolf, a trade fluent ambassador. This guy was off the charts good. John Feeley was the U.S. ambassador to Panama from 2015 to 2018, when Panama established diplomatic relations with Beijing. Chinese companies have since poured billions into infrastructure projects in Panama. China does not operate the canal, as Trump falsely claims, but it does now have an outsized, if not alarming, presence in this hemisphere. Sofele says able U.S. diplomatic work, not a U.S. seizure of the canal, is critical in Panama to counter China. Panamanians see the U.S. seizure of the canal, is critical in Panama to counter China.

Panamanians see the U.S. as the partner of preference, but that China pressure is something the U.S. sadly has not paid enough attention to. In Panama, Trump should say, I want an American firm building that bridge across the canal. Feely would not comment on Kevin Cabrera's nomination for ambassador to Panama. Cabrera is vice president of Miami-Dade's International Trade Consortium, but the U.S. Senate will also consider less-than-diplomatic Cabrera controversies.

In 2018, he took part with the right-wing hate group Proud Boys in this menacing protest against Democrats here. You guys suck! You're a communist! You're a communist! Either way, Feely urges Trump to take special care with his Panama pick. Democrats here. You guys suck! You're a communist! You're a communist! You're a communist! Either way, Feely urges Trump to take special care with his Panama pick.

It is incumbent upon any president to pick an individual that can address the geostrategic challenges that come from Panama precisely because of the canal. Under Trump, Florida looks to play an outsized role in those diplomatic challenges. I'm Tim Padgett in Miami. Tourism and trade are big international business throughout all of Florida, so foreign policy is clearly very important for this state. Nahal Toosey is along with us, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent for Politico. Nahal, welcome to the program. Thanks for your time.

Thanks for having me. Let's dispense with the obvious. Do you foresee any hiccup in Marco Rubio becoming secretary of state? No, I think he's well on his way to confirmation. Probably might actually be the only cabinet official that is confirmed by day one. Yeah. I do want to ask you, though, he may be considered Trump's most conventional pick for secretary of state. He's had two others. The former CEO of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson, was Trump's first secretary of state he's had two others the former ceo of exxon mobile rex

tillerson was trump's first secretary of state and then it was the former congressman and cia director mike pompeo but rubio is pretty conventional given those two other gentlemen isn't he uh yeah i mean look you know in the in the kind of uh spectrum of MAGA and Trump related folks. Rubio is something of a traditionalist, but that's also why he's already drawn a lot of suspicion from a lot of Trump supporters. Yeah. In fact, you don't think, and you're a longtime foreign affairs reporter, you don't think that Rubio is going to last too long in this job. Why not? I don't, but to be honest, it's not like it's my opinion. It's like everyone I'm talking to. Right, right. You're talking to a lot of folks in the diplomatic corps.

Yeah. And no, I mean, we're talking foreign officials. Some folks are like Trump administration people who like Rubio, who want Rubio to succeed. And I'm not kidding. Like some of them, some of these folks even were like, oh, he'll be lucky if he lasts a year. And that was kind of astonishing to me. It is. I mean, as every cabinet job, a 24-7 job, but Secretary of State really is the representative to the rest of the world for the administration and for the United States. Do you think he'll be successful in trying to fulfill the cliche of domestic politics

ends at the water's edge in the U.S.? I think it's increasingly hard for any secretary of state to do that. I mean, we saw Mike Pompeo struggle with that. But look, part of the challenge for Rubio is that he already is being undermined, not only because folks in Trump's base think he is too traditional and too hawkish and too interventionist, and there's already people who want to basically replace him. But there's also a number of special envoys who have been appointed by Trump covering portfolios that essentially overlap

with parts of his job. And the State Department in general is a kind of a weak institution, relatively speaking, compared to the National Security Council, the Pentagon. And Trump does not trust U.S. diplomats at the State Department. He thinks they're out to get him. So for all these reasons, Rubio is already going in really quite weak. And so the question is, you know, can he actually survive in a Trump administration? And if doing so requires just kind of keeping his head down

and having a very narrow portfolio of a few things that he has any influence. One of the depreciating descriptions of Senator Rubio, assuming he's successful as with the nomination of Secretary of State, is that he will be the Secretary of the Americas, given how much his global portfolio has kind of been chipped away with these special envoys that Trump has talked about from Mar-a-Lago. Talk to us a little bit about how the envoys strategy of Trump maybe gives us a sense of how he's going to be approaching foreign policy this term compared to his first term. Well, I think Trump sees in the special envoy mechanism a way to get things done a lot faster so that he doesn't necessarily have to go

have his people go through Senate confirmation. And for a lot of the people that are going to go through that process, even in a normal world, it takes a long time. And so I think Trump wants people to go in there and get stuff done. So he's naming these special envoys, which generally speaking, they do have to get confirmed. But there's leeway like that he can them for 180 days, up to a whole year or so without getting confirmation. So he can send these people in to do things like negotiate agreements in the Middle East, for instance, I mean, he's got a number of Middle East special envoys, other things that you know, his people who normally require confirmation are just going to have to

be waiting in the wings for. But now, look, you mentioned the Secretary of the Americas piece. And I think that's where Marco Rubio really can make a difference. There's a number of folks who really care about the Western Hemisphere who are going to go into the State Department alongside him. And he really cares about it as well. And so there's going to be some attention, more attention paid to Latin America than normal. It often doesn't get nearly as much. And that could be a big deal. And it's certainly a big deal for Florida. It is a trading partner for Florida, for ports. It is a place for hospitality. It is a place where we see tourism and investment continuing in Florida, obviously because of the hemispheric geography that we have here in the panhandle in the peninsula.

What about the relationship with the other Floridian who's going to be at a top, not diplomatic spot, but a top foreign policy spot, Mike Walsh, who's a representative from the Atlantic coast in Florida, who's going to be the national security advisor? So my understanding is the two are friends. They get along. They have similar views on a lot of

things. But here's the thing. Inevitably, in any administration, there becomes a rivalry between the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor. The National Security Advisor has a smaller group of people. They can move a lot faster. He doesn't have to deal with the massive bureaucracy of the State Department. And he's in the White House with a direct line, face to face with President Trump. So I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Walz becomes the more powerful figure. But at the same time, you know, there's a lot of pressure and as national security advisor as well. So it's not like it's going to be an easy job. I anticipate the two will have a lot of differences. But the question is whether they can manage them and keep them out of the public realm.

Well, we look forward to more of your reporting, Nal. Thanks for sharing it with us here on the Florida Rondo. Much appreciated. Thanks for having me. Nal Toosey, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent for Politico. And I'm Tom Hudson. You're listening to the Florida Rondo from your Florida Public Radio station. This is the last weekend for Joe Biden as president of the United States. Our partner, PolitiFact, has been looking back at the past four years of promises by the president. Sam Putterman is back with us, reporter at PolitiFact.

Sam, great to have you again. Yeah, thanks for having me. So you've been doing a lot of work with you and your colleagues. 99 promises you reviewed that President Biden had made. I just want to talk about at least one of them here with a direct connection to Florida.

It is the president's pledge to allow prescription drugs, prescription medicine from other countries to be imported into the United States. This has been talked about for a good long time. Did he fulfill that promise?

So Biden earned a compromise on that, on our rating system. One, mainly because he left it up to the states to bring the policy to completion rather than, you know, legalize the practice nationally. And no states have yet implemented it. Florida, I believe, has gotten the federal OK to do it, though, right? Yes. So in January 2024, the FDA authorized Florida as the first and still only state to import select prescription drugs from Canada. Florida had originally sought this authority under President Trump's administration in 2020. And although Governor DeSantis did applaud the decision,

Florida still hasn't yet put a program into practice. And a lot of that has to do with the practicality of implementing it. So a compromise on Biden's pledge to allow foreign prescription drugs to be imported into the U.S. I want to ask one more that has a Florida connection. He, Biden, made one pick to the U.S. Supreme Court during his term. He had promised some things about that pick even before he made it. What was the promise and did he follow through with it? Yeah, so Biden promised to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court and he did earn a kept honor tracker when he chose Miami native Katonji Brown Jackson in February 2022 to succeed Stephen Breyer. So he did keep that promise.

There are 97 more fact checks about the president's promises. You can find them at PolitiFact where Sam and her colleagues went through those 99 promises by President Biden. And as he has his last weekend ahead in the Oval Office, you can check out some of those. This week here, confirmation hearings, Sam, for President Trump's cabinet nominations got underway. There are a few Floridians on the roster, as we spoke about earlier just a moment ago about the Secretary of State nomination of Senator Marco Rubio. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has been nominated as the U.S. Attorney General. She was questioned about, among other things, the 2020 election results. And she said President Biden is the president of the United States. And then she

added this. There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024. So three different claims in there, a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office, overwhelmingly elected in 2024. What's the rating on these claims here, Sam? Was the peaceful transfer of power claim, and that one is wrong. It very clearly ignores the violent January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted the election certification. election certification. You know, as a reminder, more than 1500 people were charged in federal court related to that riot, with charges, you know, including obstruction of law enforcement, violence with a deadly weapon and assault. So you know, writers forcibly breached and vandalized

the Capitol, they attacked police officers, they you know, they did hang Mike Pence. So that was far from a peaceful transfer of power. Yeah, that was the day of accepting the electoral college votes as opposed to kind of the inauguration day, which happened a couple of weeks later. The AG nominee, Pam Bondi, was also asked about President Trump's actions after the 2020 election, the days and weeks after that election, including when then President Trump called Georgia election officials. This is a hour-long phone call between these folks. And I'm going to play the key moment that is central to the ongoing state election interference charges that Trump and others still face. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more that we have because we won the state.

So that's just one moment of an hour plus long phone call. And this is how Trump's attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, responded this week when she was asked about that call. I have not listened to the hour long conversation, but it's my understanding that is not what he asked him to do. understanding that is not what he asked him to do. So Sam fact check Bondi statement here that she understands that the then President Trump was not asking Georgia officials to change election results. Right. So she mentions that she didn't listen to the call. But either way, it is pretty blatantly inaccurate. You know, it is it is what he asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was a Republican, to do as we just heard, and is backed up by the call's transcript by the recording, you know, in the call's transcript, by the recording.

You know, in the call throughout it, Trump asked the officials to investigate the unfounded allegations about the 2020 election fraud, and many of his directives did involve a quest to find enough ballots to put him in the winning column. So it was pretty blatantly wrong. Yeah. More fact checks of the nominee hearings. You can find Sam and her colleagues' work at PolitiFact and a news partner here with us at the Florida Roundup. Sam, always great to have you. And we'll look forward to the weeks ahead with you.

Great. Thanks so much. Have a good one. You too. Sam Putterman, Florida government reporter for PolitiFact. February 7th, we've got a live in-person program here on the Florida Roundup that we want to tell you about. We'd love to see you in person at Zoo Miami in Dade County. If you happen to be traveling to South Florida, coming across the Everglades maybe, we'd love to see you there. It is really makes a lot of sense, right? I mean, you know, politics, news in Florida can be pretty wild, so why not do a

program about it at a zoo? Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine-Cava will be along with us. We're going to have some live music, and yes, we will have some animals. We're also going to talk about Florida as the center of the often dangerous and illegal exotic pet trade. And then also acknowledge the fact that we've got a lot of invasive species threatening our native environment here in the Sunshine State. We're going to get to all of that in our live program February 7th. It's free. We'd love to see you in person. All you have to do is register at WLRN.org and pack your sunscreen. We've got more to come here on the Florida Roundup. Covering Florida Navigator Program provides confidential assistance for

Floridians looking to explore health care coverage within the federal health insurance marketplace. Open enrollment ends January 15th. 877-813-9115 or coveringflorida.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Great to have you this week. The wildfires in Los Angeles are a stark reminder to us here of the challenges both states have with their home insurance markets. Now here in Florida, the largest home insurer citizens wanted to increase premiums for coverage that began with the first of the year. However, state regulators have not yet made a final decision, so any rate increases remain unclear right now. Citizens proposed an average rate hike of 13.5%

for the most common coverage. During a presentation this week on Tuesday to lawmakers, Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yawarski said the industry, including citizens, emerged okay from the three hurricanes that hit the state this year. Things are going pretty well. We're seeing improvement. The peak of the crisis that occurred was in 2022. Post many of the reforms that have taken place, we're seeing stability has emerged throughout the marketplace. Lawmakers approved changes to home insurance in 2022 as some insurers were failing and others were reducing coverage. New laws were passed to reduce lawsuits, for instance, against insurance companies. The average home insurance premium, according to

state regulators, is a little over $3,700. That's up about $100 from a year ago. Now, legislation filed at the state capitol would require property insurance companies to give customers more notice about changes to policies, including if they'll be dropped. Right now, companies have to give a four-month notice if an insurance policy will be canceled or not renewed, and that notice has to be mailed, like snail mail, like in your mailbox. Under a proposed bill, insurance companies would have to give policyholders a secondary 45 days written notice of any policy change, and that could be emailed. State Senator Danny Burgess from the Tampa area is the bill's sponsor. The reality is we do everything online these days. How many of us go to the mailbox and it's just full of junk mail?

And then, hey, there could be actually a very important letter buried within all of that that could potentially be missed. It could happen to any single one of us. This past storm season was another reminder that as much as high surf and high winds are dangerous, so is the high water from the rain that accompanies hurricanes. Homes, cars, streets all flooded with rainwater for days, even weeks in some cases, after Hurricane Milton pummeled the state in October. Here's how a few local water managers described that Category 3 storm. That is a 100-year rainy bad. A 300-year storm, I absolutely think it was a 500-year storm. Climate change has contributed to wetter storms, meaning more rain,

and that means flooding is pushing old stormwater systems beyond their capacity. Jessica Mazaros reports now from our partner station WUSF in Tampa. Nancy De La Cruz has lived in Tampa's University area neighborhood for about a year and a half. It's behind Fowler Avenue, which suffered devastating flooding after Hurricane Milton. She's showing me the thick gray water line that surrounds her one-story house. It's knee-high. She couldn't enter her house. There was standing water for five days. A stormwater pond is just steps away from her home, and De La Cruz says it usually helps prevent flooding. But the pond couldn't help this time, she says, because water came from every direction. De La Cruz's neighbors, who've lived in the university area for over 30 years, told her they'd never seen

flooding like this. Although her son is helping her to fix the damage, De La Cruz has lost almost everything and has trouble sleeping. She's sick to her stomach from stress and says there isn't a day she doesn't cry. Nancy De La Cruz is one of many across the region who became a recent victim of flooding in unexpected areas. Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Polk counties had anywhere from 10 to 18 inches of rainfall. Florida's climatologist David Zierden says the amount of rain from tropical cyclones, tropical storms, and hurricanes is increasing and will continue to increase. The theory is fairly simple. A warmer, and will continue to increase. The theory is fairly simple.

A warmer, moister atmosphere, also more fuel from warmer sea surface temperatures, provides more moisture for the storm to drop in these heavy rainfall events. This is a climate issue, but it's also an infrastructure issue. It's really hard to prepare for a 300-year storm and one of the strongest hurricanes because none of our storm so when they lost power, water was not being pumped out. But he says even with working pumps, the systems aren't designed to withstand storms like Milton. There's not enough resources to design for, you know,

category 3, 4, 5 storms that just sit on us and dump, you know, 12 to 16 inches of rain. Water managers all across the region had similar things to say about their stormwater infrastructure. But as the climate changes and these storms become more common, can officials continue to call them 100-year storms? Although they lack resources, they are looking for solutions. Taryn Sabia is an urban and community designer focusing on resilience with the University of South Florida.

She's done some research on what's called blue-green urbanism. So looking at how we can create more natural stormwater systems, ways of moving water through and to that isn't just about piping and pumping. Like floodable parks, for example. But Sabia says Florida also has a lot of stormwater ponds, so she suggests reviewing if they function under these new rainfall conditions. Some residents and advocates say new construction around older neighborhoods like Progress Village in Tampa has increased flooding. Sabia suggests taking new development into areas that are not as built out, preferably on higher ground. There are, I think, a number of areas like that that we can look to in terms of providing both new development as well as areas that are safe for refuge,

so that people don't have to go as far to evacuate or find safety. Hillsborough County is investigating the impacts recent storms had on its water systems in the county and cities within it. They're mapping, analyzing data, and getting public input. Phase one is expected to be completed by June. I'm Jessica Mazaros in Tampa. The waters around Florida have cooled from their summer highs, but they're just the right temperature for manatees. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the Florida manatee will remain listed as a threatened species. Billy Brooks is a fish and wildlife biologist with the federal agency. In our analysis, not only do we look at the threats, but we're also looking at all the conservation that's being implemented.

at the threats, but we're also looking at all the conservation that's being implemented. FWS projects a low chance of extinction for the Florida manatee in the next 150 years, but several environmental groups think the Florida manatee needs more protection. The mammal was taken off the endangered species list back in 2017. It's now just threatened. Center for Biological Diversity attorney Reagan Whitlock says they asked for the Florida manatee to return to the endangered list after over 1,000 died back in 2021. Most of them died because pollution killed seagrasses where they feed in the Indian River Lagoon. listing it as endangered could potentially result in more funding from our legislature, more attention from our federal agencies, and more efforts to make sure that they get put back on the path to recovery faster. The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed the smaller Antillean manatee be listed as endangered. They usually swim south of Florida in the Caribbean. I'm Tom

Hudson. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio station. And finally in the Roundup, after a record-breaking number of space launches from Florida last year, it has been a busy start to this year. And there's just been a lot of backward counting in the space coast. While every trip to space is remarkable, 3, 2, 1, ignition. And liftoff. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go. While every trip to space is remarkable, two notable missions blasted off from Florida this week. Just after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A.

The mission is called Ghost Riders in the Sky. Supersonic. Yes, it's named after the Johnny Cash song. It's carrying a lander called Blue Ghost. It's six and a half feet tall and packed with ten instruments. It's headed to the moon, where it's expected to land in early March. A different blue and a different John. A rocket from blue origin blasted off about 25 hours later from a launch pad 10 miles away at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is the first flight of the company's

new Glenn rocket. Yeah, that's named after astronaut John Glenn. The rocket is a little taller than the Statue of Liberty. It reached its goal of low Earth orbit, but the rocket booster did not land on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. It had been hoped for, but not expected. Another launch is expected this spring, and again from Florida. That's it for our program this week. It is produced by WLRN Public Media in Miami and WUSF in Tampa by Bridget O'Brien and Dr. WLRN's Vice President of Radio is Peter Meritz. Our technical director is M.J. Smith. Engineering help each and every week from Doug Peterson, Ernesto Jay, and Jackson Harp.

Richard Ives answers our phones. Our theme music is provided by Miami jazz guitarist Aaron Libos at aaronlibos.com. Don't forget, you can come see us live in person for the Florida Roundup February 7th at Zoo Miami in Dade County. You can find more information and sign up and register. It's all free at WLRN.org. Thanks for calling, emailing, listening, and above all, supporting public media in your neighborhood. I'm Tom Hudson. Have a terrific weekend. Covering Florida Navigator Program provides confidential assistance for Floridians looking to explore health care coverage within the federal health insurance marketplace. Open enrollment ends January 15th.

877-813-9115 or coveringflorida.org.