Good morning and welcome to Tuesday.
Rep. BYRON DONALDS is vying to be the next governor of Florida. But that doesn’t mean he’ll make Tallahassee his new home if he wins.
Donalds — who’s endorsed by President DONALD TRUMP — told Playbook he didn’t plan to move into the governor’s mansion if he succeeds in the 2026 gubernatorial election.
“I have a house in Naples that I love,” Donalds said, pointing out that, when Sen. RICK SCOTT was governor, he and his wife also kept their permanent residence in Naples. Donalds said he would travel to Tallahassee as “business is needed” including for the legislative session and especially during the first couple of years.
The decision would stand in contrast to Gov. RON DESANTIS, who moved into the mansion with his young family and no longer owns property. But Donalds wants to turn Florida into an economic powerhouse, so he expects to travel on numerous international trade missions and unveil new enterprises across Florida, he said. He also supports overturning the state law shielding a governor’s travel records.
Playbook recently had a wide-ranging conversation with Donalds. Here are more highlights from the interview:
— On his economic plan: Donalds said he wants to speed up government approval processes to bring more companies to Florida rather than offering tax incentives. He said the state should work with local governments to make permitting faster.
“If you want companies to come here — which we want to do — you have to address that burden of just getting started,” he said.
He also wants to invest in better transportation so people can have more choices about where to live, bring in higher-paying jobs, have the No. 1 university system and see improvements in reading and math scores so more students will be ready for the workforce. On energy, he supports building more nuclear power plants.
— On the governor’s power to suspend elected officials: Donalds said he thought DeSantis had used his power appropriately.
“I would use them,” Donalds said. “And the principle is very clear: Are you following Florida law? If you’re not following Florida law, you have betrayed the oath of office you took when you were sworn in as an elected official in our state. … You have betrayed the public trust that the people in your jurisdiction gave you when they voted for you, and it is the responsibility of the governor to hold you accountable.”
— On whether the job of lieutenant governor is necessary: Unlike some who’ve called for doing away with the position, Donalds said he thought it was important. But he also said he’d like the LG to have more specific roles rather than being mainly “ministerial.”
“It’s a tough position to fill,” Donalds said, “because what you’re trying to make sure is that, in the event that something happens to you, this person that you’re installing is prepared to run the state.”
— On the proposed congressional stock trade ban: Donalds said the bill Rep. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-Fla.) is pushing “should be amended.” He has a stock portfolio as part of his IRA that’s managed by an investment firm, and said he never tells financial advisers what to trade. That arrangement should continue to be allowed, he said. (Luna endorsed Donalds on Monday in The Floridian.)
Some members of Congress have blind trusts, but Donalds argued that was too expensive for middle-income members. In that arrangement, a client’s assets are managed by an independent trustee without the client knowing what’s in them. Donalds also noted that if members had to divest their portfolios, they’d face a costly tax bill.
“I know people generally think members of Congress are all rich,” he said. “That’s actually not true.”
Donalds proposed having members disclose all notes from financial advisers, which would include phone calls with members that would show if they ordered any trades.
“When I see these bills running around, I’m like, ‘Guys, if you want to do this, come ask me. I did this for a living. I traded securities on behalf of my clients,'” said Donalds, who used to work in commercial banking and finance before going into politics.
WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis is holding a press conference in Tampa at 10 a.m.
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HABEMUS LG — DeSantis plans to tap former Green Beret and decorated military veteran Jay Collins as Florida’s lieutenant governor, filling the job with a close ally who could mount a gubernatorial primary challenge to Trump’s pick of Donalds.
DeSantis has been without a second in command since February, after appointing former Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nuñez as president of Florida International University in Miami. The decision to appoint the Republican state senator provides the sharpest signs yet into DeSantis’ thinking on who should succeed him in next year’s election.
DeSantis plans to make his announcement today, according to four people familiar with the planning, granted anonymity to relay private conversations. Two of the people confirmed the press conference is scheduled to occur at the Tampa Green Beret Association.
— Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout
FPL HEARING HALTED — State regulators on Monday agreed to delay a hearing on Florida Power & Light’s $2.5 billion rate hike request after the company and several commercial customer groups announced a preliminary deal last week.
The Office of Public Counsel and energy justice groups are not part of the deal and opposed delaying the two-week hearing that was set to start Monday. But those groups appeared to soften their stance after members of the Public Service Commission said they shared legal due process concerns.
— Bruce Ritchie
UTHMEIER WEIGHS IN ON CENSUS — Florida Attorney General JAMES UTHMEIER sent a letter Monday to the Trump administration in support of conducting a new census count. Uthmeier said Florida’s population got undercounted — pointing to the Census Bureau’s own comments on the matter — and argued Florida should have gotten at least one more House seat and more federal funding.
“Steps must be taken now to right these wrongs,” he wrote in a letter to Commerce Secretary HOWARD LUTNICK, urging for a recount ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The letter comes after Trump has moved to order a new census, which isn’t otherwise scheduled to occur until 2030. Florida House Speaker DANIEL PEREZ is also creating a select committee to look at drawing up new districts, as POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reported. DeSantis has been urging a mid-decade redistricting for weeks, but he told reporters Monday that he “wasn’t privy to anything going on” with Perez’s announcement.
The federal government hasn’t conducted a mid-decade Census before, and Trump wants the count to exclude people who are living in the U.S. illegally. DeSantis said that, even without a new Census, some South Florida congressional seats may need to be redrawn because they are potentially illegal race-based gerrymanders.
— Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout
INSURERS PROFITING — “For the first time since 2015, Florida-based insurance companies in 2024 collected more in premiums than they paid out in claims, despite three hurricanes, Debby, Helene and Milton, making Florida landfall last year, according to the most recent Property Insurance Stability Report from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation,” reports Anne Geggis of the Palm Beach post.
HOWEVER — “Data released by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation shows a majority of policyholders in the state are continuing to see costs rise for all-perils coverage of their single-family homes,” reports Ron Hurtibise of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“In fact, among customers of the 90 residential property insurers regulated by the state, two-thirds were insured by companies that posted average premium increases between January and May, while only a third were insured by companies that posted decreases.”
— “Watch out for double-digit health insurance increases in 2026,” by Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix.
— “Florida leading agency for immigration arrests doesn’t use body cameras. Why it matters,” by Ana Goñi-Lessan and Stephany Matat of USA Today Network — Florida.
— “Amesty says a skilled defense, not politics, helped her evade indictment,” reports Annie Martin of the Orlando Sentinel.
IN MEMORIAM — “Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay died Monday, two months after an assassination attempt that left him with severe gunshot wounds to the head. He was 38,” reports Antonio María Delgado of the Miami Herald.
— “Migrants returning to Venezuela face debt and harsh living conditions,” reports The Associated Press.
— “Under state threats, Hillsborough pulls transgender YouTuber’s memoir,” reports Divya Kumar of the Tampa Bay Times.
STORM FORMS — “Tropical Storm Erin formed Monday in the eastern Atlantic and is forecast to track west in the direction of the U.S., increase in strength and likely become the season’s first hurricane,” per the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“Erin is still many days away from land and the forecast contains a lot of uncertainty. For the next two days, dry air and mild sea-surface temperatures will ‘keep the small vortex in check,’ the National Hurricane Center said. But warmer waters will eventually fuel strengthening.”
MAYORAL LAUNCH — Tallahassee city commissioner JEREMY MATLOW launched a campaign Monday to become mayor — on the same day that incumbent Mayor JOHN DAILEY told Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat he wouldn’t be seeking reelection.
Matlow is a progressive and a restaurant owner who has been on the city commission since 2018. He said in a letter announcing his candidacy that, if elected, he’d focus on affordable living, higher paying jobs and protecting the environment.
“We can grow our city without losing its charm, we can lift communities out of poverty without bankrupting our coffers and we can build for the future we all want to see while maintaining our natural resources and respecting our neighborhoods,” Matlow wrote.
Dailey told the Tallahassee Democrat of bowing out: “We’re going to spend the next year and finish strong, and then it will be time to pass the baton. This is not a forever job. You get in, you do your best job and then at some point, it’s time to move on to the next chapter. And I’m ready for the next chapter.”
BONDI IN CHARGE OF DC POLICE — “Trump said Monday he would place the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control and deploy the National Guard, an escalation of federal power in his campaign to tighten control over the nation’s deep-blue capital city,” reports POLITICO’s Irie Sentner.
Relationship to Florida: Attorney General PAM BONDI will lead the Metropolitan Police Department and new Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator TERRY COLE will be interim federal commissioner of MPD.
FLORIDA CONNECTION — CHERYL HINES, wife of Health and Human Services Secretary ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. grew up in Tallahassee and graduated from the University of Central Florida, per a Wall Street Journal profile.
Fun fact: “She started her acting career at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, where she re-enacted the shower scene in ‘Psycho’ 15 times a day, wearing a nude bodysuit while tourists stabbed her with a rubber knife.”
— “Canadians furious about Trump flee their private Florida community,” reports Bloomberg’s Ari Altstedter.
BIRTHDAYS: Former Rep. Connie Mack IV … former state Rep. Matt Caldwell … (was Monday) state Rep. Jose Alvarez.
