Florida Senate votes to repeal Florida's ‘Free Kill' law, sends bill to Gov. DeSantis
The law bars adult children and their parents from suing for wrongful death caused by medical malpractice.
The bill cleared the Senate Thursday night with a vote of 33-4.
An overwhelming share of state House lawmakers approved it late last month.
The bill will now head to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk for his signature.
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Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Middecade redistricting could be risky move for Florida Republicans
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — While the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature wages 'maximum warfare' to carve new GOP House seats for the 2026 election and solidify President Donald Trump's lock on Congress, significant obstacles impede Gov. Ron DeSantis' desire to do the same in Florida. The Texas Legislature met in a special session at Trump's request and quickly came up with a new gerrymandered congressional district map last week that would take away up to five seats from the Democrats. That spurred Democrats to leave the state to prevent a vote on the new map, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in turn has threatened to oust them from office. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he thinks Florida could come up with three to five new Republican seats, based on conversations he's had with the U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, but he has stopped short of calling for a special session himself. 'We're looking at it seriously. I would look favorably to the Legislature taking it up, so stay tuned on that,' DeSantis said last week at a news conference. That may be a tall order in a Republican-dominated Legislature that is nevertheless increasingly resistant to the state's lame-duck governor. State Rep. Alex Andrade, a top Republican from Pensacola, said Monday that DeSantis is 'not in a position to force us to do anything that we don't think is a good idea. All we'd have as an impetus for this is partisanship.' House Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa said she does not 'trust a word coming out of DeSantis' mouth about redistricting because it's all coming from Trump.' This is about Florida getting more Republican seats positioning himself for another run for president in 2028, she said. 'He is more concerned about posturing for his next political opportunity than concern about the well-being of the people of Florida,' Driskell said. So far, Florida GOP legislative leaders have remained silent on holding a special session on redistricting, which would be a massive, expensive logistical process. And there appears to be little appetite among Republican members of Florida's congressional delegation, many of whom are gearing up for reelection and unlikely to want to reshape districts in ways that change their voter base. DeSantis vetoed the Legislature's last attempt at drawing new congressional district lines and forced his own map on them in 2022, one that eliminated two Black congressional districts and spurred lawsuits from voting rights groups. The map was upheld by both the federal courts and the Florida Supreme Court. But his grip on the Legislature has slipped since he strong-armed voting districts on them. When he tried to impose his will on the Legislature in January over immigration enforcement, the Legislature rejected his plans and passed several bills of its own, creating a standoff that was resolved by a compromise. Andrade, who served as the House health care budget chief last session, said he speaks with House Speaker Danny Perez of Miami once a week, said he 'hasn't heard anything on redistricting' from the leadership. The impetus and data required for an accurate, constitutional middecade redistricting isn't there, he said. 'Odds are we'd be redistricting with no real basis, and drawing partisan lines.' That would violate the state constitution, which prohibits redrawing lines for political purposes. 'If maps were to get litigated with no other justifiable reason than political gain, we would lose in court.' Andrade said. 'There has to be some other justification for me to take it seriously.' When they drew up their congressional map based on the 2020 census three years ago, Andrade said, 'We had to bend over backwards to avoid looking partisan.' The Legislature's map would have given Republicans just two additional seats. DeSantis' map handed the GOP four seats, giving its congressional delegation a 20-8 majority and helping secure the party's narrow control of Congress in the last two elections. It would be impossible to avoid obvious partisanship this time around without conducting a new census, Andrade argued. DeSantis said he wants a new census but acknowledged it would be difficult to redistrict Florida given the short time frame between now and the midterms. 'Now they'd have to do that relatively soon, because you need time to draw maps and you need time to get that done,' DeSantis said. Redistricting is traditionally done every 10 years following the census to determine how many seats each state gets in the 435-member House of Representatives and to distribute federal funds. DeSantis argued last week that the population has grown enough to require a mid-decade census and reapportionment. DeSantis said the state was cheated out of a second new congressional seat — the state was awarded one after the 2020 census — during the last round of reapportionment because the census was poorly conducted, but Democrats said he had a chance to prevent that from happening. Democrats pushed to create a committee in 2019 to oversee the census count to make sure Florida residents didn't get undercounted and ensure that citizens get the full number of representatives they deserve. DeSantis rejected that plan, saying it wasn't the state's responsibility to make sure everyone got counted. He also said he didn't want to spend state money counting the heads of noncitizens. 'The census was off because DeSantis failed to work aggressively with local governments and community groups to make sure the marginalized populations were not undercounted,' said Daniel Smith, head of the political science department at the University of Florida. Now, DeSantis wants a middecade census that counts only the people who are legally allowed to be in the U.S. But the Constitution requires 'an enumeration' of the people in each state every 10 years, and gives Congress broad powers to decide how to accomplish that, Smith said. 'You don't get to choose who you count.' Smith said the governor has painted himself into a corner by not wanting to count noncitizens, because they're the reason Florida got even one extra seat. 'You take those people out of the equation and Florida is going to lose seats,' Smith said. Matt Isbell, a Democrat consultant who specializes in analyzing election results by district and precinct level, said DeSantis is 'full of nonsense.' Conducting a midcycle census would be a massive, expensive undertaking that may not even produce the result that DeSantis wants, he said. 'It's a gamble. You risk losing seats and right now you have 20 solid Republican seats,' Isbell said. Driskell said redistricting could easily backfire on the GOP. 'You never know what issue would be to get voters to have a change of heart,' she said. 'Voters care about having their representation taken away.' _____
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
America Will Suffer From Trump's Assault on Facts
President Trump treats facts in the same way that he treats people: He expects them to line up in support of his goals, and if they don't, he seeks to get rid of them. Last week Mr. Trump was confronted by the inconvenient truth that job growth has been in a three-month slump. A more grounded president might have considered whether the data raised questions about his agenda. Mr. Trump characteristically insisted that the questions were about the data. He charged that the beige functionaries of the Bureau of Labor Statistics were engaged in a conspiracy to discredit his administration, and he fired the head of the bureau. The firing is so clearly damaging to the credibility of the federal government that it drew objections from some Senate Republicans. Mr. Trump's allegations against Erika McEntarfer, the longtime public servant whom he summarily fired, have no foundation in reality. The government's monthly report on the labor market is produced by the bureau's nonpartisan staff. Estimates for different parts of the economy are compiled separately and then pulled together into a national report, which is completed before it reaches the desk of whichever political appointee happens to be running the bureau. Experts, including past leaders of the agency nominated by presidents from both parties, said that it was effectively impossible for the bureau's leader to manipulate those numbers. One kernel of comfort is that Dr. McEntarfer's departure won't necessarily prevent the agency from continuing to produce reliable data. At the very least, we may hope that if the administration seeks to influence future jobs reports, some of the people responsible for producing the data will have the courage to speak out and tell the public. But there is no doubt that Mr. Trump's actions will cast a shadow over the rest of the government that he leads. Public servants must now do their work while fearing that they may be fired merely for producing information that displeases the president. Mr. Trump is also making it harder for the government to obtain information, as people and businesses asked to respond to questions now have reason to doubt whether the answers will be accurately reported. The president says that he fired Dr. McEntarfer because he wanted to preserve the integrity of federal data. The reality is that Mr. Trump's actions will create the very problem he claims to be fixing. Instead of improving the quality of information gathered and reported by the government, he is sowing doubts about the ability of federal agencies to produce reliable data. And in doing so, he is leaving Americans ever more reliant on whatever he declares to be the truth. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Newsweek
3 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Democrats' Chances of Flipping Joni Ernst's GOP Senate Seat in Iowa—Polls
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Democrat Jackie Norris jumped into the Iowa Senate race to challenge GOP Senator Joni Ernst on Tuesday in a race Democrats are hoping they can make competitive next November. Bryan Kraber, Ernst's campaign manager, told Newsweek Iowans will "reject this Obama-era bureaucrat" in a statement responding to Norris' candidacy. Newsweek also reached out to Norris' campaign for comment via email. Why It Matters Democrats are facing a challenging Senate map ahead of the midterms, despite hopes that President Donald Trump's diminishing approval rating could fuel a 2018-style "blue wave" across the country. The party has to turn to states like Iowa, a former battleground that has shifted rightward over the past decade, as potential flip opportunities if they have any hope of taking back control of the upper chamber. Iowa has not elected a Democratic senator since 2008 and backed Trump in each of his three presidential bids—including by 13 points last November, an indication of how Republican the state has become. Nonetheless, Democrats remain hopeful that a strong national environment, as well as backlash over Ernst's recent Medicaid comments, can make the race more competitive than expected. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst speaks during The Hill & Valley Forum 2025 at The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on April 30, 2025, in Washington. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst speaks during The Hill & Valley Forum 2025 at The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on April 30, 2025, in 137 Ventures/Founders Fund/Jacob Helberg What To Know Norris emphasized her experience as a teacher and school board member in a video announcing her candidacy released on Tuesday. "As a teacher and a school board member, you see the invisible burdens families are carrying," she said. "Take the Medicaid cuts. Who is it impacting? Middle class families right now, they can't afford to put food on the table. We have to find a way to make things more affordable for families." Early polls of the race suggest Ernst will have an advantage in Iowa. A Public Policy Polling survey found that Ernst would lead a generic Democrat by about two percentage points—45 percent to 43 percent, with 12 percent still unsure. However, the poll did not ask voters about specific Democratic candidates. The survey of 568 Iowa voters was taken from June 2 to June 3. A Data for Progress poll from May found that Ernst would have a lead over most Democratic candidates on an informed ballot. When asked about Norris, voters preferred Ernst by about six points (50 percent to 44 percent). Democrat Nathan Sage fared better, leading Ernst by about two points (47 percent to 45 percent). Ernst also led State Representative J.D. Scholten by six points (49 percent to 43 percent) and State Senator Zach Wahls by 10 points (52 percent to 42 percent). The poll surveyed 779 likely voters from May 7 to May 12. Republicans are favored to hold the Iowa Senate seat, according to Kalshi betting odds, which give the GOP a 74 percent chance and Democrats a 26 percent chance of winning next November. Outside of Iowa, Democrats view the Maine seat held by Senator Susan Collins and the open North Carolina seat as their best opportunities to pickup a win in a GOP-held seat next November. Maine backed former Vice President Kamala Harris by about seven points, while North Carolina backed Trump by about three points last November. Republicans currently have a 53-47 majority, so Democrats need to win multiple double-digit Trump states like Iowa, Ohio or Texas to win back control of the Senate. Democrats are also defending seats in Georgia and Michigan, both of which backed Trump last year. What People Are Saying Bryan Kraber told Newsweek: "Our state is ruby red because Iowans reject higher taxes, open borders, and woke ideology, just like they will reject this Obama-era bureaucrat" Democratic hopeful Jackie Norris wrote in a press release: "Red versus blue isn't fixing anything. Iowa needs a Senator who doesn't just talk tough but rolls up their sleeves, and has the grit and experience to actually get something done." Sabato Crystal Ball forecasters J. Miles Coleman and Kyle Kondik wrote in a June update: "In 2014, [Ernst] won as part of a broader GOP wave—and she got help from a gaffe-prone opponent. Six years later, she won reelection as Trump was carrying Iowa by a strong margin (Ernst ran a little bit behind Trump). It's possible that 2026 could be like 2018: Iowa did not have a Senate election that year, but Democrats did end up winning three of the state's four U.S. House seats that year, and we suspect that if Iowa had had a Senate election, it likely at least would have been close." What Happens Next Ernst has not confirmed her plans for the 2026 election. Both the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball consider the race to be Likely Republican.
