By Kimberly Leonard

Sen. Ben Albritton answers questions during a legislative meeting on Feb. 7, 2023. | AP

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday.

DRIVING THE DAY — State Sen. Ben Albritton will be declared president-designate during a ceremony in the upper chamber today — and Tallahassee insiders will be closely listening to his speech for any comments about Gov. Ron Desantis and hints about where Florida’s new laws are headed.

The governor is also expected to attend the ceremony. If presidential polls bear out, DeSantis and Albritton, who will lead the chamber after the 2024 elections, are likely to be working together during the governor’s last two years in office.

Albritton, 55, told Playbook his remarks today would focus on family, his roots and “what it is that drives me.” A citrus farmer by trade from rural Wauchula, Albritton was first elected to the state Senate in 2018 after serving four terms in the state House.

Albritton predicted he and House Speaker Designate Danny Perez (R-Miami) would “get along famously” despite their different backgrounds and districts — with Albritton’s driven by the agriculture industry — because they both support “core Republican principles.”

Albritton said he would generally “support additional access” to services for Floridians with disabilities, as Perez called for. In an interview with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Albritton also said tackling the high cost of property insurance — a priority for Perez — was “on the radar.”

On other policy issues, Albritton declined to get too far ahead, stressing that his job as majority leader was to support Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), who remains in charge of the upper chamber.

But he did say he wanted to find more ways to help rural Florida’s economy. He told City & State Florida that he wanted to fund more research on developing new kinds of citrus that could withstand incurable diseases. These diseases devastate Florida’s citrus output and contribute to many growers abandoning the trade and selling off their land to developers.

The tension between the environment and agriculture has marked parts of Albritton’s time in the Legislature. In 2022, DeSantis vetoed a sugar industry-friendly bill Albritton sponsored, saying it threatened Everglades restoration projects. Albritton briefly acknowledged the tension of the two priorities, saying he wanted to find a “balance” to support rural economies “while at the same time making sure that our wide open spaces and natural spaces remain supported and protected.”

Albritton said he would “generally” support DeSantis’ proposal to broaden sanctions against Iran following Hamas’ attack on Israel, though he cautioned he’d have to see the proposal in writing first to “understand what sanctions and how they would be accomplished.”

Watch this afternoon’s ceremony here.

— WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will appear on the Mark Levin Show at 7:30 p.m. He’ll be in South Carolina later this week.

At 3 p.m. a one-on-one interview with Florida first lady Casey DeSantis and Dana Loesch will air on The First TV.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: [email protected]

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ON TAP TODAY — Florida House Elections Canvassing Commission and several subcommittee meetings, including on economic development, education quality and transportation. (See full schedule and watch live.)

TOMORROW — Florida Supreme Court Justice Renatha Francis is set to have her ceremonial investiture at 3:30 p.m., according to City & State Florida.

THIS WEEK — “Central Floridians testify at UN about what it's like at school in Florida in 2023,” by WMFE’s Danielle Prieur: “A group of Florida teachers, students and activists will address the United Nations in Switzerland over what they call the ‘authoritarian experiment’ in the state.”

MORE DETAILS ABOUT ISRAEL FLIGHTS — Florida partnered with Project DYNAMO, “a Tampa-based organization that has been criticized by U.S. government officials for being too willing to take risks,” write Michael Wilner and Ana Ceballos of the Miami Herald. Each flight is estimated to cost $2 million.

SIMILAR TO DEMS — A new bill from Rep. Fabián Basabe (R-Miami Beach) would remove language in Florida’s constitution that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. A second bill would ensure the state can recognize same-sex marriages. The measures are similar to those Democrats have introduced over multiple sessions, and Basabe told Playbook in a text that he wanted to show bipartisan support and wanted to see where his colleagues stood.

“It is not my intention to sell it; rather, I wish for this bill to be supported willingly,” he said. “I encourage the other representatives to make their decisions based solely on their conscience."

JOB OPENING — DeSantis hasn’t tapped anyone to the role of Florida poet laureate, noticed Tristan Wood of City & State Florida.

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

US Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2016 at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, outside Washington, March 3, 2016. | AFP via Getty Images

KEEPING FRIENDS CLOSE — UF President Ben Sasse tapped two of his former U.S. Senate staffers to top posts at the university, found the Alligator’s Garrett Shanley. James Wegmann was Sasse’s comms director when he was in the Senate and he’s now vice president of communications at UF. Raymond Sass, who was Sasse’s chief of staff in the Senate, is vice president for innovation and partnerships. Neither will be moving from the D.C. area to Florida and both are making around $400,000.

IDALIA AFTER EFFECTS — Duke Energy wants to pass along $91.9 million in costs from the hurricane to customers, per a proposal it filed with the Florida Public Service Commission, writes News Service of Florida.

LETTER TO DESANTIS — “Seminole commission chair asks for DeSantis investigation into county elections chief,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Martin Comas: “A little over a month after Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson posted an emotional video on TikTok claiming he’s encountered repeated racism among Seminole County leaders, Commission Chair Amy Lockhart sent a letter to DeSantis asking his office to intervene and investigate Anderson’s seemingly ‘erratic’ and ‘combative’ conduct.” Anderson didn’t get word of the letter to the governor’s office until the Sentinel asked him about it.

FALSELY ACCUSED — “Broward man who was exonerated after wrongful conviction is shot and killed by Georgia deputy,” by Angie Dimichele and Rafael Olmeda of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Leonard Allan Cure, who was exonerated in Broward County in 2020 after serving more than 16 years of a wrongful conviction sentence, was shot and killed Monday morning by a deputy in Camden County, Georgia.”

PROSECUTOR FROM CASEY ANTHONY TRIAL — “Florida Judge Jeffrey Ashton accused of child abuse, DeSantis exec. order reveals,” by USA Today’s Kinsey Crowley: ”Ashton of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Orlando, is facing allegations of ‘lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 16" and failure to report child abuse.’” Investigators are looking into the case but haven’t filed charges.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at the Department of Transportation, Sept. 27, 2023, in Washington. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

TODAY — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be in Broward and Palm Beach counties to meet with local officials and show off projects that President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law paid for. He’ll speak this afternoon at the Forum Club of The Palm Beaches and get a tour of the Brightline rail station.

Tomorrow he’ll be in Miami-Dade County for a press conference with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), who was one of the initial cosponsors of the bipartisan infrastructure law, invited the transportation secretary to Florida.

FLORIDA HOLDOUTS IN SPEAKER BATTLE — U.S. Reps. Carlos Gimenez, John Rutherford and Mario Diaz-Balart still aren’t sold on Rep. Jim Jordan as U.S. speaker as of this morning. The U.S. House could vote on Jordan’s nomination as soon as today.

ISRAEL CODEL — “‘A gut-wrenching punch’: What U.S. Rep. Wasserman Schultz saw in Israel after Hamas attacks,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man: “I can’t even begin to describe to you how sickening it was, and horrifying,” said Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the first Jewish woman elected to Congress from Florida. “It was important for me to be there, not just as a member of Congress who expresses our support, our country’s support for Israel, but as a Jew, as a Zionist, it was just absolutely critical for me to be there.”

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BACKLASH — “DeSantis takes heat from Democrats for calling all Palestinians antisemitic,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello: Critics included U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), who wrote on X, “What a racist comment from a racist man.”

DOUBLING DOWN — DeSantis said he would support a forthcoming bill from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to cancel visas for foreign national students who support Hamas. “You don't have a right to be studying in the United States,” DeSantis said on the Guy Benson Show on Fox News Radio. “And we have a right to defend our people.”

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THE SHOW WILL GO ON — NBC News, Salem Radio Network, the Republican Jewish Coalition and Rumble will stream the next GOP presidential debate, this one in Miami on Nov. 8, despite Trump pushing for the RNC to cancel the event.

ALMA MATER — While DeSantis has been rejecting his Ivy League roots, his former Yale University classmates are showing up for him, Bloomberg News found. Former baseball and fraternity friends who’ve nicknamed themselves the “Fight Club” are tapping into their networks and raised more than $5.5 million for DeSantis’ presidential campaign. The group meets every week and DeSantis joins once a month.

BRRR — Temps in South Florida will be dropping to the upper 50s at night, reports the Sun-Sentinel.

BIRTHDAYS: Ellyn Bogdanoff, former legislator and shareholder with Becker & Poliakoff ... Scott Randolph, Orange County tax collector and former legislator … Stu Loeser & Co.'s founding principal Stu Loeser

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