Santa Ono selected to be next University of Florida president amid GOP opposition
The UF Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to select Ono as the university's 14th president, sending the decision to be ratified by the Florida Board of Governors in a vote set for June 3.
The decision drew criticism from Republican lawmakers representing the state who opposed Ono's perceived political ideology.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., posted to social media Tuesday that UF had "made a grave mistake" in its selection of Ono.
"This is a step in the wrong direction. I strongly urge the [State University System of Florida] Board of Governors to reject his selection at next week's meeting. Florida is watching," he wrote.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., have also publicly spoken out against Ono's hiring, due to his past support of diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
"Have the decision makers at UF lost their minds?" Donald Trump Jr., the son of President Donald Trump wrote on X Wednesday. "This woke psycho might be the perfect fit for a Communist school in California, but how is he even being considered for this role in Florida? Every single member of the Florida Board of Governors should vote against him!"
Ono, however, explained his stance on DEI has shifted in an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed.
"Like many, I supported what I believed to be the original intent of DEI -- ensuring equal opportunity and fairness for every student. That's something on which most everyone agrees. But over time, I saw how DEI became something else -- more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student access. That's why, as president of the University of Michigan, I made the decision to eliminate centralized DEI offices and redirect resources toward academic support and merit-based achievement. It wasn't universally popular, but it was necessary. I stood by it -- and I'll bring that same clarity of purpose to UF," he wrote.
The UF Board of Trustees has expressed its confidence in Ono as the correct choice to lead the GOP opposition.
"Santa Ono is precisely the right person to be president of the University of Florida at this moment in its history," UF Trustees Board Chair Mori Hossein said Tuesday. "He is a remarkably accomplished scholar and a solidly proven academic leader, and his values align perfectly with ours here in the great state of Florida."
Ono has also received the backing of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who said earlier in May that he trusts "the people that were involved" who made Ono the candidate for UF president
"They were trustees that I've appointed, that have performed exemplary for the state of Florida in those capacities," he said.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
8 minutes ago
- Politico
House Dems Find Their Mojo With the Epstein Saga
In the middle is Trump, who once had a well-documented friendship with Epstein and who has been referenced in court documents surrounding the now deceased financier — though who is not accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Trump has tried to smother the controversy, even scolding his supporters for obsessing. 'Everyone's always talking about Trump being 'Teflon' — obviously that's because all Hill Republicans are pretty much a suit of armor for him, right? But in this instance, they're not,' said a senior Democratic aide discussing the strategy. 'And so it exposes him, I think, to more attacks that otherwise would be brushed off — and makes it easier for us to drag his numbers down while creating chaos among the Republicans.' The most interesting part about the strategy is how organically it came together. After watching the MAGA-sphere melt down over the administration's announcement in early July that there was no 'client list,' Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) grabbed the issue, telling his colleagues that the matter was kryptonite for the GOP, according to people close to him. In the House Rules Committee, ranking Democrat Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and his team had similarly been watching the feeding frenzy with right-wing podcasters and influencers, sensing an opportunity to needle Republicans so clearly out of step with their own base. Khanna found an unexpected ally in libertarian gadfly Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), teaming up to launch a discharge petition that could let House members circumvent Johnson's attempt to keep the issue from a vote on the floor. Through it all, Democratic leaders were cheering on their members. Beyond giving Khanna tacit support to work with Massie, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries set the tone for members early last week. He insisted in press conferences and in private meetings that this issue was a lose-lose situation for Republicans: either Trump and his allies had been lying for years about what was in those files or they were right and were now hiding evidence to protect their cronies. For longtime Hill watchers like myself, Jeffries' embrace of the scandal was a surprise. As Axios wrote last week, Jeffries has been known for an 'often taciturn approach to salacious stories of the day, preferring to remain disciplined and on-message in his public communications.' But like his members, Jeffries sensed the Epstein scandal was different, insisting it could feed into a narrative of corruption that would resonate beyond just the Democratic base.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump is transforming the GOP's energy policies — and not all conservatives are happy
Republicans spent four years railing against former President Joe Biden's use of Washington's money and regulatory heft to promote wind farms, solar panels and electric cars. Now President Donald Trump is wielding the same mighty federal arsenal on behalf of oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power — and his party is cheering along. The result is that the GOP is embracing the same style of big government intervention in the energy markets for which they slammed Biden's Inflation Reduction Act — mirroring the ways that Trump has reshaped Republican long-standing orthodoxies on matters such as trade and international alliances. Trump's aims are worlds apart from Biden's, of course: The administration is offering billions in financial support for energy sources long favored by Republicans while rolling back environmental rules that raised costs for the fossil fuel industry. That's a huge contrast from Biden's effort to steer hundreds of billions of dollars to clean-energy manufacturing in an effort to counter climate change. But it's also a departure from longtime Republican arguments that free-market forces should steer the future of the U.S. energy supply, and that the federal government's job is to get out of the way. 'They're picking winners and losers. No doubt of that,' said Shuting Pomerleau, director of energy and environmental policy at center-right think tank American Action Forum. 'There has been a convergence of both Democrats and Republicans into the industrial policies propping up the industries or technologies they love with the resources and the legal authorities they have.' One fresh example is a July 7 executive order from Trump that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum cited to impose tight restrictions on wind and solar projects, to the dismay of moderate Senate Republicans. Trump had promised House conservatives that he would crack down on any federal support for clean energy, despite language in the GOP's recently passed megabill easing the phaseout of tax credits. The Trump administration's actions threaten a massive chill on private investments in wind, solar and battery companies, and run counter to the global markets' growing embrace of clean energy technologies. But the White House says the changes serve major Trump priorities, such as meeting the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence data centers. 'Under President Trump's leadership, America is dedicated to leading every industry, particularly as the global leader in Artificial Intelligence,' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement. 'Advancing A.I. requires substantial energy resources, modern infrastructure, and top-tier technological expertise — America is well-prepared to meet these demands and drive progress forward.' Trump's willingness to use the levers of government to reward his energy allies began on the first day of his second term. His Inauguration Day executive order declaring an energy emergency called for weakening environmental rules and focusing federal resources to expedite energy production. But its definition of energy sources notably excluded solar and wind. 'We're in by far the most politicized environment for energy I've ever seen or I'm aware of in history, absolutely. Very sad,' said Robert McNally, who is president of the consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group and served in former President George W. Bush's White House. 'But why should energy be different? What isn't highly political these days?' Trump went further on wind with an executive order that threw up new onerous new hurdles to federal projects, such as by blocking new offshore wind lease sales and halting wind permitting. He doubled down on that with an executive order this month attempting to limit solar and wind developers from accessing federal tax credits, and with the Interior directive requiring Burgum's personal review of wind and solar projects. Other Trump administration actions have overtly benefited fossil fuel sources. Energy Secretary Chris Wright used authorities under the century-old Federal Power Act to keep an aging coal power plant in Michigan running just eight days before it had been slated to go offline. Michigan ratepayers are now paying to keep it afloat — although Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a motion against DOE's move, saying retiring the plant was part of a plan to save Michigan ratepayers $150 million in capital expenditures. Wright later used that same authority to force an oil- and gas-fired power plant outside Philadelphia to continue operating. 'We're expecting more than that. That's the tip of the iceberg,' Devin Hartman, director of energy and environment policy with the conservative think tank R Street Institute. 'The case to subsidize those power plants is really flimsy.' To the Trump administration and its defenders, its actions are a much-needed course correction. They have pointed to warnings from the North American Electric Reliability Corp., a nonprofit that monitors the power grid for potential blackouts, that regional grid operators face higher risk of supply shortages due to coal and natural gas power plant retirements. Addressing grid reliability is crucial for a Trump economic agenda that places a huge priority on growing artificial intelligence, which forecasters have said will require vast amounts of electricity. Trump administration officials contend that ending renewable power subsidies and reversing Biden's environmental rules will attract more AI investment by preventing retirement of coal and natural gas power plants. 'The need for power is scaling so fast that if President Trump hadn't been elected president, I think we would already be in trouble,' said Carla Sands, vice chair of the center for energy and environment at the Trump-aligned think tank America First Policy Institute. 'The American regulatory environment had become anti-production, anti-energy, anti-business, and this is changing under President Trump's brilliant leadership.' An energy and AI summit that Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.) convened last week in Pittsburgh — which included an appearance by Trump — crystallized the emergence of the president's brand of industrial policy. The administration touted $90 billion in announcements for new AI investments from U.S. tech companies, investment houses and the 'hyperscalers' that build the data centers such as Google, CoreWeave, Blackstone and Brookfield Asset Management. 'The AI revolution will change the way the world works, and we cannot lose. The Trump administration will not let us lose,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during the event. 'We need to do clean, beautiful coal. We need to do natural gas. We need to embrace nuclear. We need to embrace it all because we have the power to do it — and if we don't do it, we're fools." But wind, solar and battery storage projects have been the United States' leading source of new power in recent years, while backlogs for new natural gas turbines, yearslong timelines to build nuclear power plants and the remote chances of greenlighting new coal-fired power plants have stunted growth of those sources. Solar, wind and batteries accounted for 93 percent of all new power added to the grid last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. People who identify themselves as traditional small government conservatives expressed wariness of some of Trump's moves. They say the party is using the same heavy-handed tactics to reward favorites for which they criticized Democrats. Republicans have even dialed it up a notch, they said. Republicans have cast aside the all-of-the-above mindset of the pre-Trump era, said Drew Bond, CEO of conservative climate organization C3 Solutions and an Energy Department adviser in the George W. Bush administration. Now, they preach a 'best of the above' mentality that invites subjective choice over the ebbs and flows of a free market, he said. 'You're sort of seeing a bit of an intellectual compromise, if you will, in order to secure more of an agenda focused on abundance and reliability and affordability,' he said. Trump and his team have not been shy about that, said Tom Pyle, president of the conservative Institute for Energy Research. Pyle said he doesn't necessarily agree with GOP efforts to tip the scales for specific energy sources, and he opposed a lucrative tax subsidy worth tens of millions of dollars that the Republican megabill contained for coal used in steelmaking. With tariffs, a flurry of executive actions and other steps, Pyle said, Trump has gone far beyond even Biden's use of executive authority to forge his industrial policy. But, on balance, Pyle said Trump's approach to cutting regulations aligns with Republican orthodoxy — and that means he can stomach the rest for that. 'This is a Republican president who has moved the Republican base and changed what it means to be a Republican,' Pyle said. 'Everyone keeps saying, 'Oh, well, when Trump leaves the scene, things will get back to normal. We'll just be like good old Republicans again.' Well, no. If that's the case, say goodbye to the Electoral College map.'
Politico
14 minutes ago
- Politico
Johnson tries to contain Epstein dissent
IN TODAY'S EDITION:— Republicans are getting impatient over Epstein— GOP leaders eye clawing back education funding— Dems slam today's GOP meeting with Dr. Oz Speaker Mike Johnson is managing a delicate balance between appeasing antsy Republicans over the Jeffrey Epstein files and buying President Donald Trump time by shutting down the House early for August recess. The Louisiana Republican tried to quell dissent in a closed-door House GOP meeting Tuesday. He told members to stay united, arguing it would take time for the administration to release files that would also protect the names of Epstein's victims, Meredith Lee Hill and Hailey Fuchs report. But Republicans are getting impatient. In an Oversight subcommittee hearing Tuesday, lawmakers voted to compel the full committee to subpoena Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Oversight Chair James Comer later told reporters he had warned GOP leadership last week that if the Epstein files came up in his committee, most of his members would vote on the side of transparency. 'Everyone knew that,' Comer said, adding that his team will visit Maxwell in prison for the interview once they negotiate details with her attorneys. The saga has given Democrats just the platform they needed to land a successful blow on the White House. In her latest column, Rachael Bade outlines just how much the party has found their mojo in effectively hijacking the House and sticking it to Trump. Democratic efforts to further drive the MAGA wedge has legs beyond this week. The bipartisan bill led by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, which would compel the release of more files, could hit the floor as soon as lawmakers return in September. That means Republican leaders are bracing for Democrats to keep the Epstein issue hot during August recess. And some of their own members who are itching for an outlet acknowledge that five weeks off may not stop Johnson's headache. 'The Epstein issue has contributed to their desire to just get us out of town because they hope that the energy will dissipate,' Massie told reporters Tuesday. 'I doubt that's the case.' GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING. Don't forget to wear your sneakers to the Hill today — the Sneaker Caucus is hosting its third annual Sneaker Day (with awards given to the five best sneakers at 1:45 p.m. in Longworth 1539). Air Jordan designer Wilson Smith Ill will speak on a panel at 1 p.m. Email your Inside Congress crew at crazor@ mmccarthy@ and bguggenheim@ Follow our live coverage at WHAT WE'RE WATCHINGWith help from Jordan Williams The House will vote on the China Financial Threat Mitigation Act of 2025, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 and the Enhancing Multi-Class Share Disclosures Act under suspension of the rules at 3:30 p.m. The Senate will confirm Arielle Roth as assistant Commerce secretary for communications and information and John Hurley as undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial crimes at 11 a.m. The Senate will vote on a motion to proceed to the fiscal 2026 MilCon-VA appropriations bill, as well as a cloture vote on Zachary Bluestone's nomination for U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri at 2 p.m. A confirmation vote on Bluestone is expected at 5 p.m., along with a cloture vote on Aaron Szabo's nomination be an assistant EPA administrator. — House Appropriations will mark up the fiscal 2026 National Security, State Department and Related Programs bill at 10 a.m. — House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar will hold a news conference at 10:15 a.m. — Ways and Means will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at 2 p.m. The rest of the week: The House will leave for August recess. The Senate will continue to work through appropriations bills and Trump's nominations. Pro subscribers receive this newsletter with a full congressional schedule and can browse our comprehensive calendar of markups, hearings and other notable events around Washington. Sign up for a demo. THE LEADERSHIP SUITE Dems debate shutdown strategy Democratic leaders emerged from a closed-door meeting on Tuesday without any specific ultimatums for Republicans, after discussing their government shutdown strategy ahead of the government funding deadline in 10 weeks. 'House and Senate Democrats are in complete and total alignment,' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters after the meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The two leaders privately huddled before bringing in a larger group of Democratic leaders. Leaders reiterated they are approaching negotiations in good faith and encouraged Republicans to do the same. Democrats 'want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,' Schumer said, but 'the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.' Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House's top Democratic appropriator, said this is the worst appropriations process she has seen in her 34 years in Congress. 'It has not been what we have experienced,' DeLauro said. 'There's always been that give and take to pass the bills.' Privately, Democratic leaders have discussed the need to focus on how government funding affects 'people,' rather than how Republicans are undermining the government funding 'process,' two people granted anonymity to discuss the private talks said. Some Democrats are already making their opposition to the appropriations bills clear. Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Peter Welch of Vermont voted against the first procedural step of the Mil Con-VA appropriations bill. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders also opposed moving forward with the package. GOP leaders eye second rescissions package Republican leaders are in talks with the White House about a second rescissions package, after pushing through the first rescissions package last week, Calen reports with Juan Perez Jr. and Eli Stokols. The package would include Education Department funding, which was first reported by The Daily Signal. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise did not disclose the specifics of upcoming rescissions but told Calen talks were well underway. 'We haven't made a final decision on what will be in the second rescissions package, but we're of course talking about it,' Scalise said. 'The administration is very interested in it.' Scalise also said the Trump administration is 'having talks with appropriators' and will ultimately decide when to send it over and what's in it. It's not clear how much the package would cut, but Johnson told Republicans in recent days this group of federal funding cuts won't be as big as the first, according to two people granted anonymity to share details of private discussions. POLICY RUNDOWN CRAPO EYES FUTURE TAX, HEALTH BILLS — Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo told reporters Tuesday he's looking at policies across his panel's jurisdiction to move in year-end legislative pursuits. 'We're going to be looking in the healthcare arena. We're going to be looking in the tax arena still,' said Crapo, noting bipartisan efforts last year to enact a legislative overhaul to pharmaceutical benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, health insurance plans and pharmacies. Crapo said he 'would not oppose' reversing a new limitation on gambling tax deductions implemented by the GOP's domestic policy bill, which caused a big stir in the betting industry. He also reiterated his support for addressing upcoding, a form of Medicare fraud where providers submit a claim for a costlier service than the one that was provided. The conversations around a bipartisan health deal are in a very early stage, with Johnson telling reporters Tuesday that an extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits — the main ask by Democrats in exchange for coming to the negotiating table — hasn't come up yet. Extending those credits would get an immense amount of pushback from deficit hawks in the House, however. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris noted to reporters Monday that extending the premium tax credits would cost $300 billion and be 'a non-starter.' DEMS SLAM GOP MEETING WITH DR. OZ — Democrats on the House Ways and Means committee plan to call out Republicans for holding an off-the record roundtable with CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz this morning, said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a committee Democrat. 'They could have done this as a hearing with the full bells and whistles… allow reporters to come in, but they're choosing not to,' Gomez said in an interview. 'I think they know we'd kick the crap out of them… [Oz] might play a doctor on TV, but he's not an administrator. He doesn't know the job.' Republicans, meanwhile, say they have plenty of items on their agenda for the bipartisan briefing. Rep. Aaron Bean, for instance, intends to press Oz on the importance of legislation he co-sponsored with committee member Rep. Kevin Hern, which would require CMS to provide more accurate data to consumers on different kinds of Medicare plans. HOUSE GOP KEEN TO SCRAP CAP GAINS ON HOUSE SALES — House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith appeared receptive Tuesday to Trump's idea to eliminate capital gains on sales of homes. When asked about whether he would seek to codify the proposal in legislation, Smith told reporters on Wednesday, 'I'm always looking for tax cuts on Americans.' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has a new bill that would do just that. Committee Rep. Ron Estes, however, said in an interview Tuesday he's not sure the legislation would increase housing supply, while another member of the panel, Rep. Lloyd Smucker, said he'd have to look at the proposal's total cost. Financial Services member Andy Barr lauded the idea in an interview Tuesday and said Republicans should eliminate capital gains taxes on investment properties, too: ''Yes' on the president's idea, great idea. And build on that.' SENATE GOP UNVEILS NEW CRYPTO BILL — Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott and Sens. Cynthia Lummis, Bill Hagerty and Bernie Moreno released draft legislation Tuesday for a digital asset market structure overhaul,Jasper Goodman reports. It's the Senate's version of the House's CLARITY ACT, which passed the House on July 17 with support from 78 Democrats and would divvy up regulation of digital assets under the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E: CAMPAIGN STOP HARDER GETS A REMATCH — Former Stockton, California Mayor Kevin Lincoln has launched another bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Josh Harder, Juliann Ventura reports. Lincoln, a Republican who unseated prominent Democrat Michael Tubbs in an upset in Stockton's 2021 mayoral race, lost to Harder in last year's House contest by fewer than 4 percentage points. Harder's Central Valley seat is a target for the NRCC. JOB BOARD Abigail Gost is now comms director for Rep. Rob Wittman. She most recently was deputy comms director for Rep. Brad Finstad. Greer Foster is now director of scheduling for Rep. Michael Cloud. She most recently was acting deputy scheduler and assistant to the chief for Sen. James Lankford. Iyanla Kollock has been promoted to legislative director for Rep. Shomari Figures. Scott Prutting joins the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council as special assistant. Scott was previously a policy analyst for the Interior subcommittee on House Appropriations. Tammy Pham has been promoted to legislative director for Rep. Sylvia Garcia. TUNNEL TALK MEMBER SECURITY UPDATE — House lawmakers are getting an increase in funds they can use for personal security, including at their homes, our Katherine Tully-McManus reports amid an increase in threats against lawmakers. The announcement came during the closed-door GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning, during which House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil announced an 'updated Member security framework.' A growing number of lawmakers have asked for more protection when outside the Capitol grounds. GOODBYE LONGWORTH DUNKIN' — House eateries originally scheduled to close at the end of the week will close starting today as lawmakers leave early for recess. Get your last Capitol medium iced from Dunks. THE BEST OF THE REST Young Progressives Are Figuring Out How to Use Zohran Mamdani's Playbook, from Oriana González and Shifra Dayak at NOTUS John Thune Tells Ruthless Podcast He's Ready To Help Fix Transfer Portal, NIL Problems In College Sports, from Trey Wallace at OutKick HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sen. Raphael Warnock … former Rep. John Hall … POLITICO's Lisa Kashinsky and Jake Traylor … Stephanie Grisham … Dean Aguillen of OGR … David Brock … Mary Crane of Targeted Victory … Reuters' Erin Banco … Judy Lichtman … Edelman's Courtney Gray Haupt … Tracie Pough … Gabriel Barnett … Newsmax's Jon Glasgow … Monica Venzke of American Bridge 21st Century … State's Kenya James … Monica Lewinsky … former Justice Anthony Kennedy TRIVIA TUESDAY'S ANSWER: Jamie Gillespie correctly answered that the only U.S. president who was born on the Fourth of July was Calvin Coolidge. TODAY'S QUESTION, from Ben Jacobs: Republicans passed a proposal in committee to name the opera house at the Kennedy Center after Melania Trump. Which president's daughter pursued a career as an opera singer? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@
