Florida rolls out the welcome mat for the Trump library

Politico

07-02-2025

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Goli Sheikholeslami and John Harris
Good morning and happy Friday.
President DONALD TRUMP has made Florida his permanent home. And a couple of state lawmakers want to make it as easy as possible to build his future presidential library here as well.
State Sen. JASON BRODEUR (R-Sanford) has introduced legislation that would exempt Trump's future library operation from local government regulations on planning and construction. Brodeur said he worries local officials could impose rules on matters such as sign heights, parking spaces or tree removals as building gets underway.
State lawmakers have shown a willingness to override local jurisdictions over the years. And Brodeur's concerns have historical context. He said he was thinking back to the 2006 feud Trump had with Palm Beach over an 80-foot pole displaying the American flag over Mar-a-Lago. Trump racked up fines for breaking the town's ordinances and sued Palm Beach, alleging free speech violations.
'I don't want my president to get in trouble for being too patriotic, because three of five city commissioners think his flag is too big on his presidential library,' Brodeur said. 'I don't want him to design this beautiful presidential library and then have a local municipality tell him that the plans are not approved because they don't like how many oak trees he removed.'
Scouting locations in Florida is already underway. FELIX LASARTE, a Miami real estate lawyer and lobbyist who represents the Trump Organization, has informally toured Florida International University in Miami, which is close to Trump's Doral resort and golf course, as well as Florida Atlantic University, which is close to Mar-a-Lago, the Miami Herald first reported.
Lasarte told Playbook he hadn't toured additional locations yet and said the library may not end up being at a university. But he added that the campuses provided good 'synergy.' He also said Florida was 'definitely' going to be the site of the library given the Trump family's residence in the state.
When Playbook reached Brodeur, he didn't know that Trump's team was already shopping for sites. One of the reasons he filed the bill, he said, was an initial concern that Trump might choose another state, such as New York. He wanted to make Florida a more attractive option and give the president 'maximum flexibility.'
'He is the adopted son,' Brodeur said. 'He does have Mar-a-Lago here, and we would love to be able to have our first presidential library ever. How do we make it so that he has as few headaches as possible in building whatever he'd like?'
Rep. ALEX ANDRADE (R-Pensacola), who introduced the state House companion, said he was concerned about politically fueled impediments in some of the state's counties. Miami-Dade has turned red politically, for instance (and even has a street named after Trump), while Palm Beach remains blue.
'It's no secret that President Trump engenders strong feelings, whether you're for him or against him,' Andrade said. 'And we've just seen, over the years, examples of local governments inhibiting progress, using land regulation cards and land use decisions as the mechanism — and that's just not something that we wanted to see happen.'
Brodeur isn't envisioning state funding going toward the library's construction at this point. But he also said there may be some local work to do in terms of building new roads or creating public transportation access.
Getting a library off the ground would likely take years. Ground didn't break on former President BARACK OBAMA's library until 2021 — after announcing Chicago as the site in 2015 — and the grand opening isn't expected until next year. The planning typically gets underway around the time a president leaves office for a facility to hold records, artifacts and a museum. Brodeur says the timing of their bill is right given that Trump's just kicking off his second term.
'This is when you start thinking about legacy,' Brodeur said. 'So now's a good time to kind of put that out there to say, 'Hey, the welcome mat is open.''
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: [e-mail]
... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...
AGRICULTURE RESPONDS TO DESANTIS — 'Florida's agriculture industry is quietly dismissing claims it depends on undocumented foreign workers in an attempt to steer clear of an intraparty battle among the state's Republicans over immigration,' POLITICO'S Bruce Ritchie reports.
'It's not working. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said farmers have an 'affinity for cheap, illegal foreign labor' and he's promised to veto an immigration policy bill from the GOP-led Legislature that would establish the state's agriculture commissioner, Wilton Simpson, as Florida's chief immigration officer, rather than having that role sit under the governor's authority. … Officials and lobbyists who spoke to POLITICO on the matter said they largely don't want to speak on the record because they don't want to be drawn further into the feud.'
'TOO CHEAP' — 'Florida's insurance commissioner has rejected rate hikes proposed by one of the state's largest property insurers, instead ordering decreases for many customers — including those in heavily populated South Florida,' reports POLITICO's Gary Fineout.
'Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky released his order Thursday, a day after DeSantis announced that many Citizens Property Insurance customers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties would soon pay lower rates. Citizens has more than 941,000 customers statewide.'
TURNING UP THE TEMP — 'Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez in a late afternoon email to members outlined a new set of 'combined workgroups,' which will review line-item vetoes from the current 2024-25 budget DeSantis signed last year,' reports Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics.
'The creation of these groups amounts to political warfare between DeSantis' executive branch and the Legislature, despite both chambers and the Governor all being Republicans. The workgroups will allow lawmakers to gather to discuss vetoes from the budget and determine which should be taken up for a potential veto override.'
NO MERCY FOR TPS — DeSantis indicated this week that he agreed with the Trump administration's decision to revoke TPS for Venezuelan immigrants, even though communities with high Venezuelan populations heavily supported his gubernatorial reelection in 2022. 'The people that voted for me are not on TPS. They are U.S. citizens,' DeSantis said, per the South Florida Sun Sentinel's Anthony Man.
LEGISLATION ROUNDUP — State Rep. JERVONTE EDMONDS (D-West Palm Beach) filed legislation to make the rental process more fair and transparent for Floridians… State Sen. BLAISE INGOGLIA (R-Spring Hill) filed a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit members of the Florida Legislature to a total of 16 years.
PENINSULA AND BEYOND
TODAY — Florida International University is holding a meeting about its presidential search, during which the Board of Trustees is expected to tap Lt. Gov. JEANETTE NUÑEZ as interim president. (Tune in at 10 a.m.)
MEMORIALIZING THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB — The Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee agreed on a design for a 'long-sought' memorial meant to honor those killed in the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting, reports the Orlando Sentinel's Silas Morgan. After the dissolution of the onePulse Foundation — the group that was originally tasked to erect the memorial — and years of waiting, committee members agree the memorial is 'long overdue.'
CAMPAIGN MODE
IN THE FAMILY — 'Republican donors at a gathering last week in Palm Beach County openly discussed the prospect of Casey DeSantis' running for governor in 2026, and for the first time, Florida's first lady is seriously considering the idea,' reports NBC News' Matt Dixon.
'Gov. Ron DeSantis, her husband, faces term limits and cannot seek re-election. There has long been speculation about whether Casey, a mainstay on the campaign trail for her husband, would herself one day run for office, but those plans seem to be coming closer to reality, five people directly familiar with the donor event and Casey DeSantis' thought process told NBC News.'
IT'S QUO WARRANTO TIME — State Rep. DEBBIE MAYFIELD's legal battle to regain her old state Senate seat will be decided by the Florida Supreme Court.
Mayfield on Thursday asked the state's highest court to order state and local election officials to place her name on the ballot for an April 1 special primary election. The Department of State told Mayfield this week that she was disqualified for the Senate District 19 race to replace state Sen. RANDY FINE because she was barred by term limits from running. Mayfield had been in the state Senate until last November when she was elected to a state House seat.
Mayfield has asserted that she is being punished by the DeSantis administration because she flipped her presidential endorsement from DeSantis to Trump in 2023.
In their emergency court filing, attorneys for Mayfield contend that Secretary of State CORD BYRD exceeded his authority by blocking Mayfield from the ballot and also cited past court cases regarding the qualifying process. The Supreme Court has asked Byrd to respond by Feb. 10.
— Gary Fineout
TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP
THIS WEEKEND — Trump is spending most of his weekend at Mar-a-Lago ahead of the Super Bowl. Senate Republicans are at the Breakers Palm Beach for their winter retreat.
BRUESEWITZ MOVES UP IN THE MAGAVERSE — 'Alex Bruesewitz — a pivotal media adviser to Trump, known for pushing podcasts and other disruptive outlets during the campaign — will be a senior adviser to Never Surrender, Trump's new leadership PAC,' Axios' Mike Allen reports. Bruesewitz's firm, X Strategies LLC, will handle digital messaging linked to Trump's political brand, including @TrumpWarRoom and @TeamTrump on X.
DATELINE D.C.
LETTER TO DHS — Rep. MARIO DÍAZ-BALART (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security KRISTI NOEM on Thursday urging her to reconsider revoking TPS for Venezuelan immigrants. While Díaz-Balart said he applauded Trump's efforts to secure the southern border, he insisted those goals could be achieved 'while still protecting those who have fled dangerous political persecution.'
'I respectfully request, within all applicable rules and regulations, that you assess all options available to ensure that Venezuelan nationals without criminal records are not forcibly returned to one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world,' he writes.
NEW CAUCUS — Reps. JERRY NADLER (D-N.Y.) and DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-Fla.) on Thursday announced the creation of the Congressional Jewish Caucus 'as an official forum for Jewish Members of Congress to exchange ideas and advocate for the issues important to the American Jewish community.'
TONIGHT — Rep. BYRON DONALDS (R-Fla.) will be on Max's 'Real Time with Bill Maher.'
— 'Trump wants to end the Department of Education. What would happen in Florida?' by the Tampa Bay Times' Jay Cridlin, Jeffrey S. Solochek and Ian Hodgson.
ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN
BIRTHDAYS: Former state Rep. Brad Drake … former Rep. Allen West … (Saturday) Rep. Gus Bilirakis … Nicole Dicocco, director of international relations for Red Banyan … (Sunday) Former state Rep. Patrick Rooney… former state Rep. Fred Costello.