Top DeSantis aide named next Florida education commissioner
The board voted unanimously Wednesday to appoint Anastasios Kamoutsas, a deputy chief of staff to the governor. The job opened up after Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, a former Republican state lawmaker, was named interim president of the University of West Florida. Kamoutsas' appointment is contingent on Diaz being named the permanent president of UWF.
'Student safety and achievement will be my top priorities," Kamoutsas said. "Parents will continue to be empowered. And teachers, you have my word that I stand in support of you.'
Kamoutsas previously served as general counsel and chief staff at the state's Education Department, before moving to the governor's office.
'Stasi Kamoutsas has delivered on important issues like parental rights, school choice, and fighting back against radical ideologies in education,' DeSantis said in a statement. 'I am confident that he will continue to serve our state well as the next Commissioner of Education.'
Kamoutsas is expected to help carry out DeSantis' conservative education agenda, from banning public funds for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, to restricting how schools teach about race and history, and dramatically expanding the state's school voucher system, which provides billions in public funds for scholarships to private and religious schools.
Among those who lauded Kamoutsas at Wednesday's meeting was former Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, who has overseen what critics describe as the 'hostile takeover' of New College of Florida. He's among the slate of Republican former state lawmakers who are now helming state colleges and universities.
'Every single major decision, I don't care if it was elimination of DEI, critical race theory, opening schools, demasking students, changing higher education, Stasi has been in that room, every single time,' Corcoran said. 'And not just as a participant. He's been in the room as a leader.'
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Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump approval rating takes another hit in latest poll
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Los Angeles Times
43 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Black mayors of cities Trump decries as ‘lawless' tout significant declines in violent crimes
As President Trump declared Washington, D.C., a crime-ridden wasteland in need of federal intervention last week and threatened similar actions in other Black-led cities, several mayors compared notes. The president's characterization of their cities contradicts what they began noticing last year: that they were seeing a drop in violent crime after a pandemic-era spike. In some cases the declines were monumental, due in large part to more youth engagement, gun buyback programs and community partnerships. Now members of the African American Mayors Assn. are determined to stop Trump from burying accomplishments that they already believed were overlooked. And they're using the administration's unprecedented law enforcement takeover in the nation's capital as an opportunity to disprove his narrative about some of the country's greatest urban enclaves. 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'It was not lost on any member of our organization that the mayors either were Black or perceived to be Democrats,' Johnson said. 'And that's unfortunate. For mayors, we play with whoever's on the field.' The federal government's actions have heightened some of the mayors' desires to champion the strategies used to help make their cities safer. Trump argued that federal law enforcement had to step in after a prominent employee of his White House advisory team known as the Department of Government Efficiency was attacked in an attempted carjacking. He also pointed to homeless encampments, graffiti and potholes as evidence of Washington 'getting worse.' But statistics published by Washington's Metropolitan Police contradict the president and show violent crime has dropped there since a post-pandemic-emergency peak in 2023. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson scoffed at Trump's remarks, hailing the city's 'historic progress driving down homicides by more than 30% and shootings by almost 40% in the last year alone.' Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, where homicides fell 14% from 2023 to 2024, called the federal takeover in District of Columbia a performative 'power grab.' In Baltimore, officials say they have seen historic decreases in homicides and nonfatal shootings this year, and those have been on the decline since 2022, according to the city's public safety data dashboard. Carjackings were down 20% in 2023, and other major crimes fell in 2024. Only burglaries have climbed slightly. The lower crime rates are attributed to tackling violence with a 'public health' approach, city officials say. In 2021, under Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore created a Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan that called for more investment in community violence intervention, more services for crime victims and other initiatives. Scott accused Trump of exploiting crime as a 'wedge issue and dog whistle' rather than caring about curbing violence. 'He has actively undermined efforts that are making a difference saving lives in cities across the country in favor of militarized policing of Black communities,' Scott said via email. The Democratic mayor pointed out that the Justice Department has slashed more than $1 million in funding this year that would have gone toward community anti-violence measures. He vowed to keep on making headway regardless. 'We will continue to closely work with our regional federal law enforcement agencies, who have been great partners, and will do everything in our power to continue the progress despite the roadblocks this administration attempts to implement,' Scott said. Oakland officials this month touted significant decreases in crime in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2024, including a 21% drop in homicides and a 29% decrease in all violent crime, according to the midyear report by the Major Cities Chiefs Assn. Officials credited collaborations with community organizations and crisis response services through the city's Department of Violence Prevention, established in 2017. 'These results show that we're on the right track,' Mayor Barbara Lee said at a news conference. 'We're going to keep building on this progress with the same comprehensive approach that got us here.' After the president gave his assessment of Oakland last week, Lee, a steadfast Trump antagonist during her years in Congress, rejected it as 'fearmongering.' Social justice advocates agree that crime has gone down and say Trump is perpetuating exaggerated perceptions that have long plagued Oakland. 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The Hill
43 minutes ago
- The Hill
Georgia GOP fears bruising primary in race to unseat Ossoff
Republicans are bracing for what could be another brutal primary as they look to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) next year. Former football coach Derek Dooley and Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Mike Collins (R-Ga.) have all launched bids for the Republican nod to take on Ossoff. Not long after Dooley — who's seen as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) preferred candidate — entered the race, the two congressmen quickly trained their fire on the political outsider. The early friction underscores the tall task ahead of Republicans: Avoiding a messy primary that leaves the nominee bruised and battered heading into the general election, while also dodging a major clash between Kemp and President Trump, who has yet to weigh in on his preferred candidate. 'As Republican strategists, we're always concerned that we're better at eating our own than winning in November,' said Heath Garrett, a friend of Dooley's since law school who is not involved in the campaign, 'and so, we also have to balance that with the reality that voters want a choice.' 'But can we mitigate the collateral damage so that we can all still win in November?' Garrett added. Dooley, whose father is former UGA football coach and Georgia icon Vince Dooley, became the latest entry in the Republican contest to take on Ossoff when he launched his campaign for Senate earlier this month. The younger Dooley has leaned hard into his own football background, best known for his time coaching at University of Tennessee, while touting himself as a political outsider. More importantly, he's seen as Kemp's preferred pick in the race after the governor declined an opportunity to run himself despite much courting from his party. A source close to the campaign told The Hill that Dooley has visited at least 16 counties since his launch, saying there was a 'really, really positive response to him entering the race.' Carter so far has a financial edge in the race with more cash on hand than Collins, who's been in the race for several weeks. Carter has loaned himself $2 million so far, though observers are watching to see how much money he ultimately pours into his bid. Carter's campaign has sought to align itself to the president, with a campaign spokesperson asserting that the congressman 'has stood with Trump from Day One.' 'Georgians know the difference between a fighter who stands with Trump versus a product of the same establishment machine that tried to stop him,' the spokesperson said. 'Collins, who has also sought to align himself to Trump, has started to establish himself as a serious candidate several weeks after launching his bid, including organizing a 159-county operation across the state and racking up endorsements from even some of Kemp's allies.' By comparison, the Georgia GOP is formally organized in only 142 counties. 'To get organized in all 159 counties in two weeks is relatively unheard of in Georgia,' said one Georgia Republican strategist, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. 'I think there's probably some prevailing thought in D.C., like, 'Oh, it's a congressman, like, how much widespread support can he really have, right, across the state?'' the strategist said. 'But Mike has clearly built an infrastructure very quickly.' The next marker observers will be watching for is third quarter fundraising reports, which will highlight how serious all three candidates are. All three men are also vying for the coveted Trump endorsement. A source close to Carter told said the Savannah-area congressman met with the White House about the race; a source close to the Collins campaign said Collins has talked to Trump about his Senate bid. Dooley has also visited the White House. Just hours into Dooley's entry, the tenor of the race quickly turned negative, with Carter and Collins attacking the former football coach. 'I will tell you this, and we're all proud of our dads, and I'm sure both my opponents are proud of their dads as well. But at the same time, we better take this serious,' Carter said while speaking to Henry County Republicans earlier this month, a thinly veiled shot at Dooley. 'You got to have somebody who can go toe to toe with this kid, and I'm that person who can go toe to toe with him,' he added, referring to Ossoff. Meanwhile, Collins's campaign has taken to mocking Dooley, such as when the former football coach posted that 'In coaching, we have a saying, 'Your film is your resume.'' ''Your film is your resume.' So true, Coach!' replied Collins's campaign, posting a clip of Louisiana State University defeating University of Tennessee, where Dooley formerly coached, 16-14 in a 2010 SEC game. In his first interview since launching his Senate bid, conservative radio show host and former Kemp aide Martha Zoller noted Dooley had only been in the race for about a week. 'It doesn't feel that way,' Dooley chimed in, 'because there's never – there's never been a candidate who's not a candidate, and never been in politics, get attacked more in a three-week span.' Georgia Republicans are no strangers to messy primaries, including 2020 when then-Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) challenged then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) for the Republican Senate nomination. The two traded barbs and negative attack ads, with Loeffler ultimately beating Collins by six points. But she was later defeated in the runoff against then-Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock. 'There are a lot of concerns, particularly after going through 2020, 2021, in the Senate race there and the runoff and the Kelly Loeffler situation — there are a lot of concerns by a lot of Republicans about that,' said conservative radio show host Erick Erickson, referring to concerns about a messy primary. 'But also it's notable Collins and Carter firing so hard at Dooley right now, who's got low-name ID, because I do think they realize he can be a competitive threat,' he added. Republicans are equally — if not more — eager to avoid a clash between Kemp and the president, who have a historically complicated relationship ever since the Georgia governor flouted Trump's ask to overturn the 2020 election results in his state. Several reports last month indicated Trump's and Kemp's orbits were at odds yet again, particularly over Kemp's reported push for Dooley. A GOP operative confirmed to The Hill that there had been a sense of 'annoyance' between Trump's and Kemp's camps over how to handle the race, but there have been efforts to smooth things over. 'Both sides recognize it's best if they're on the same side in the end,' the operative said. 'I think it's still TBD where that ends up.' A GOP source familiar also told The Hill 'there have been successful efforts to lower' the temperature. Still, there's a split between some members of the party over who should take the lead on the search to find the best consensus candidate. 'Kemp knows how to win statewide. Last time they picked a candidate, Herschel Walker didn't do so well,' one Senate GOP member said, referring to the dynamic with the White House and noting that members still remember the debacle that led to wins by Ossoff and Warnock in January 2021. 'His instincts are not necessarily the best. Kemp's are, and they need to get over the chemistry issue.' Meanwhile, others are eager to see the White House gets involved. 'I think most people here are still holding out hope that the White House steps in before the end of the year. Now is that wishful thinking? Maybe,' the Georgia Republican strategist said, who wasn't concerned yet about a messy primary. But 'every day that goes by is another day that Ossoff is untouched, is raising more money and … is padding his cash advantage over our nominee.'
