Florida Politics & News
Florida news featured in The Daily Signal with reporting, analysis, and commentary on conservative governance, education reform, and the Sunshine State’s leadership in policy innovation.
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news
Florida House Passes Heartbeat Bill, Sends It to DeSantis’ Desk
Florida’s Heartbeat Protection Act is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for signing. On Thursday, the Florida House of Representatives passed the heartbeat bill in a 70-40 vote. The bill prohibits most abortions after a baby’s heartbeat is detected at six weeks of pregnancy. “Florida lawmakers today delivered a major win for babies and mothers… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: LGBT Legal Challenge Threatens Far More Than Florida Medicaid Rule, Experts Warn
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—If a federal court upholds LGBT activists' claims against a Florida health agency's Medicaid rule on transgender interventions, that decision would have devastating consequences for civil rights law, health care providers, and public health, experts warn. LGBT activist groups led by Lambda Legal and representing four young people who identify as… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Doctors Expose Just How Experimental ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ Truly Is in Florida Medicaid Case
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Psychiatrists, endocrinologists, neurologists, and other doctors testified in support of a Florida health agency's rule preventing Medicaid from funding various forms of "gender-affirming care," such as "puberty-blockers," cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries. "Patients suffering from gender dysphoria or related issues have a right to be protected from experimental, potentially harmful treatments… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Detransitioners Back Florida Medicaid Rule Amid LGBT Legal Challenge
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Three "detransitioners"—men who underwent surgeries in pursuit of a female gender identity but later rejected that identity—filed a legal brief supporting a Florida health agency's rule preventing Medicaid from reimbursing for transgender medical interventions. Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration finalized the rule in August 2022, declaring that Medicaid would not… -
news
Jane’s Revenge Vandals Slapped With Lawsuits in Florida, Launching a Trend That May Spread Across the Country
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Christian legal group First Liberty Institute filed lawsuits Wednesday seeking damages and fines against two members of Antifa and pro-abortion group Jane's Revenge who allegedly vandalized three pro-life pregnancy centers in south and central Florida. A federal grand jury indicted Caleb Freestone, 27, and Amber Smith-Stewart, 23, with violations… -
news
DeSantis Vows Florida Won’t Help Extradite Trump
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in a tweet that the Sunshine State will not help extradite former President Donald Trump, who was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury Thursday night. Trump spends significant time at Mar-a-Lago, a Florida resort he owns. “Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue… -
news
Catholic Church in Nicaragua ‘Under Siege’ From ‘Dictator-in-Chief’ Ortega, Florida Lawmaker Says
Two panels of the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a joint hearing recently focusing on the persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. Since last year, the Catholic Church had been facing intense mistreatment from President Daniel Ortega, culminating in the arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez, an outspoken critic of Ortega’s government. Álvarez was sentenced… -
opinion
Toll of Border Crisis on States: Florida
This is Part 3 in a series about the toll that the federal government’s intentional promotion of illegal immigration is taking on the states and their citizens. (Read Part 1 (national overview) here and Part 2 (Texas) here.) As the border crisis continues across every congressional district in the country, Florida is leading the charge to fight back… -
news
Progressive College Recruits Students From DeSantis-Aligned Florida School; Board Member Slams ‘Political Indoctrination’
A board member at The New College of Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed new board members has responded to a progressive college’s active recruitment of students from New College. Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, is publicly offering New College students the opportunity to transfer, offering to match tuition and transfer credits. “It’s incredibly important… -
news
Pro-Trump Super PAC Accuses DeSantis of Violating Florida Ethics Law
Allies of former President Donald Trump accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of violating ethics and election laws through a "shadow presidential campaign," according to a 15-page complaint filed Wednesday. DeSantis has not announced a presidential campaign, though he is widely considered a top contender. NEVER BACK DOWN PAC just launched to encourage DeSantis to run,… -
opinion
Education Today Pits Postmodern Anarchy vs. Civilizational Order. Florida Shows What Can Be Done About It.
There is no subject of greater importance—and controversy—today in America than that of education. And nowhere is the clash between civilizational order and postmodern anarchy on greater display than with New College of Florida, a tiny liberal arts college in Sarasota. The New York Times recently described the reaction of “students, parents, and faculty members” to Florida Gov. Ron… -
news
‘Election Fraud … Does Happen,’ Florida Official Says as His Office Charges More Than 20 People With Election Crimes
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said the Sunshine State’s new efforts to prosecute voter fraud are key to election security. “Last year the governor championed the Office of Election Crimes and Security,” Byrd told The Daily Signal. “So, we are telling everybody we take our election law seriously.” Byrd was in Washington this… -
news
‘Historic’: Board Member Reveals His Vision for New College of Florida Overhaul
New College of Florida needs a reorientation away from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives back to its original mission as Florida’s premier liberal arts honors college, according to Matthew Spalding, dean of Hillsdale College’s Van Andel School of Government and a trustee of the Florida college. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, appointed Spalding to… -
news
87% of Books Removed From Florida Schools Were Pornographic, Violent, Inappropriate, Data Shows
Editor’s note: Some of the images in this article are graphic. An overwhelming majority of books removed from Florida schools since the beginning of the academic year in September 2022 were pornographic, violent, or inappropriate for students’ grade levels, according to school district data submitted to the state’s Department of Education. Twenty-three out of 56… -
news
Claremont Institute Heads to Florida, Lauding DeSantis Leadership as ‘Template for Any Red State in America’
The Claremont Institute is expanding its state activities to Florida, praising Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for providing "the first template for any red state in America" through his leadership. DeSantis met with Claremont Institute President Ryan Williams on Wednesday in the Florida state Capitol, where the conservative leaders announced that Claremont's new activities will… -
opinion
Florida Shows How Americans Can Fight Back Effectively Against Woke Institutional Power
Americans need to curtail the power of the radicals who control higher education. Perhaps now we have a blueprint to really turn things around. On top of entirely changing the leadership of the New College of Florida, rooting out critical race theory and gender ideology in K-12 schools, and pressuring the College Board into revising… -
opinion
Exposing Radical Florida Lawmaker’s Attempted Hijacking of Parental Rights
Legislation introduced in the Florida House of Representatives this month is being touted by its sponsor as a “children’s rights” bill, but it would be more accurate to call it what it is, a “usurpation of parental rights” bill. Characterizing far-left Democratic state Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby’s HB 217 as a children’s rights bill is a… -
news
DeSantis Announces Changes to Florida’s Colleges
Florida is making a slew of changes to its colleges, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said Tuesday morning. “We will eliminate all DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] and CRT [critical race theory] bureaucracies in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in a news conference in Bradenton, Florida. “New College has really embraced that, and I… -
news
Florida Supreme Court Rejects Planned Parenthood’s Bid to Block Pro-Life Law From Taking Effect
Florida's state Supreme Court on Monday denied Planned Parenthood's emergency motion to block the state's 15-week abortion ban. “As [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis] said, we are better when everybody counts,” the governor's press secretary, Bryan Griffin, said in a statement Tuesday, adding: The Florida Supreme Court denied both of Planned Parenthood’s emergency motions asking the court… -
news
DOJ Indicts Radical Activists for Attacking Florida Pro-Life Facilities
Following attacks on over 78 pro-life groups across the nation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has finally indicted two pro-abortion activists for attacking pro-life facilities in Florida. Twenty-seven-year-old Caleb Freestone and 23-year-old Amber Smith-Stewart “targeted pregnancy resource facilities and vandalized those facilities with spray-painted threats,” according to the DOJ. The threatening language that the two…