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USA Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Gov. Ron DeSantis taps Jay Collins to be lieutenant governor of Florida
Jay Collins' appointment signals a legacy-building move for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and sets Collins up as a standard-bearer who could face Byron Donalds in the 2026 GOP gubernatorial primary. TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Aug. 12 named state Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, as Florida's next lieutenant governor, ending a six-month vacancy in the position. Jeanette Nuñez, the previous lieutenant governor, left the office in February to be interim president of Florida International University in Fort Lauderdale. She has since become the permanent president. Collins, a former Green Beret who lost his leg in service and a state senator since 2022, is a staunch DeSantis ally. They also share a military background: DeSantis was a Navy JAG officer. DeSantis' announcement came during an news conference at the Tampa Green Beret Association. More: Out yesterday, in today: DeSantis to speak at Republican National Convention His appointment signals a legacy-building move on the part of the term-limited governor, setting Collins up as a standard-bearer who could challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, endorsed by President Donald Trump, in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial primary. DeSantis hasn't endorsed Donalds, who started his campaign in February, and a decision by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis to run to succeed her husband, which has been speculated for months, hasn't materialized. The post of lieutenant governor, which has no set duties except to take over as governor when needed, pays $135,516 per year. The governor earns $141,400 per year. The Florida Constitution says the person in the role "shall perform such duties pertaining to the office of governor as shall be assigned by the governor, except when otherwise provided by law, and such other duties as may be prescribed by law." Nuñez, for example, chaired the Space Florida Board of Directors, "oversaw the Florida Department of Health, led the Florida Cybersecurity Advisory Council, and served on the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking." Who is Jay Collins? Jarrid "Jay" Collins, 47, is an Army combat veteran and a state senator representing Hillsborough County in west-central Florida. Born in Scobey, Montana, and raised by his grandparents, Collins earned a bachelor of science degree in health sciences and pre-medicine from American Military University and a master of science in organizational leadership from Norwich University. In 1995, Collins began a career in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a medic, according to the Green Beret PAC. He was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and South America. During his 23 years of service, his leg was injured and eventually amputated, but he requalified as a Green Beret and served more than five more years before retiring as a first sergeant. Collins was elected to the Florida state Senate in November 2022 after dropping out of a U.S. House race that at one point had eight Republican candidates. More: Governor races are set to be major referendums on Trump vs. Democrats Collins serves as chair of the state's Senate Transportation Committee and has submitted a steady list of sponsored bills, including successful bills to allow concealed carry in Florida without a permit, add more restrictions on dangerous dogs, updates to veterans benefits and a requirement for student drivers to complete the driver's education course before they receive their learner's permit. A bill to relax Florida's child labor laws this year died in committee. Collins joins other DeSantis loyalists as political appointees When the Florida Legislature passed a sweeping immigration bill in January in defiance of DeSantis' more aggressive requests — which the governor promptly vetoed — Collins was one of the 16 senators who voted against the bill, joining then-state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican whom DeSantis appointed as Florida's chief financial officer on July 16. Collins also publicly defended the governor and his wife when Florida state House Republicans accused the fundraising arm of Casey DeSantis' Hope Florida state program of illegally funneling part of a $67 million Medicaid contractor settlement to a political committee controlled by the governor's then-chief of staff (and now state attorney general) James Uthmeier to help defeat a 2024 constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana. Uthmeier was named Florida's state attorney general by DeSantis after he tapped Ashley Moody for the U.S. Senate, taking over for Marco Rubio, whom Trump named U.S. secretary of State. State Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is the only elected member of the Florida Cabinet. Collins and his wife Layla have two sons, Gabe and Colt. His appointment also creates a vacancy in the Senate that will have to be filled by special election. This story contains previously published material. Jim Rosica contributed additional reporting. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Former Labor Statistics Commisioner McEntarfer Was NOT 'Arrested By U.S. Navy JAG On Treason Charges'
Was Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer arrested by "U.S. Navy JAG" on "treason charges" related to the weak July 2025 job report published by the agency? No, that's not true: As of this writing, McEntarfer was fired by the Trump administration, but no credible source has published any reports about the purported arrest. The rumor came from a website with an extensive collection of fabricated news reports featuring fictional arrests of high-ranking officials by the members of the military, arrests that would violate The Posse Comitatus Act. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on August 5, 2025, under the title: JAG ARRESTS BIDEN OPERATIVE FOR TREASON AFTER ECONOMIC FRAUD EXPOSED. The post continued: Sources say Erika McEntarfer -- former Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner and Biden loyalist -- has been arrested by U.S. Navy JAG on treason charges after allegedly falsifying July's job numbers to tank the Trump economy. This is what the entry looked like on X at the time of writing: Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer (archived here) was fired by Trump (archived here) on August 1, 2025, following a weaker-than-expected July hiring report (archived here) showing the addition of only 73,000 jobs in July 2025. There were, however, no reports from credible news organizations that she was then arrested on treason charges: searches across news articles on Google (archived here) and Yahoo (archived here) showed no results. The claim reviewed in this fact check originated (archived here) from Real Raw News. It is a website that has a history of publishing false claims in mock news stories, many of them about convictions and executions of various public figures at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. For example, the site reported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hanged (she wasn't); former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was executed (he wasn't); and "the military" convicted former Attorney General William Barr on charges of treason (it didn't). "U.S. Navy JAG" stands for the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (archived here). Its website doesn't list domestic law enforcement against civilians as an area of its practice (archived here). The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act (archived here) bans (archived here) the use of the Army, including the Navy, from conducting law enforcement operations against the general public not affiliated with the military unless there is an explicit authorization by the Constitution or Congress. Treason (archived here) is a federal crime that would be investigated by a federal-level agency such as the FBI and not by the Navy, which only has jurisdiction over military personnel. The website for Real Raw News includes a disclaimer that declares the site does not stand by the contents of the stories, calling them entertainment. Specifically, it says (archived here): Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. ... We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsom's ‘Sargent Shriver' running for California lieutenant governor
SACRAMENTO, California — A close aide to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who helped expand California's New Deal-inspired service programs into a network larger than the Peace Corps, on Wednesday will announce his 2026 campaign for lieutenant governor, joining a crowded field that includes political veterans and a nationally recognized anti-poverty advocate. Josh Fryday, Newsom's chief service officer and previously a Navy JAG officer and mayor of the Northern California town Novato, outlined to POLITICO a campaign focused on expanding volunteer service and job pathways, hunkering down to meet the state's ambitious climate goals and speeding up the construction of millions more homes in the Golden State. Fryday's effort recalls a bygone time in American politics when elected leaders from both major political parties bonded over their shared experiences in service — often in the military. At the root of his upbeat, perhaps quaint, message, at a time of incessant partisan rancor, sky-high distrust in the country's institutions and what the last surgeon general diagnosed as 'an epidemic of loneliness,' is the idea that government — which Fryday views as a vast collection of mostly well-intentioned people — 'can be a force for good.' 'We're in a moment where we have to recognize that political division and extremism isn't going to improve anybody's life, and we have to also be honest that government is not going to solve everything — it can't alone,' he said in an interview. 'It's actually up to us — the people of the state — to fix the communities we love. And the lieutenant governor can play a critical role in bringing people together to engage and empower everyone in new ways.' Like another Democrat in the race, 34-year-old former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, a pioneer for universal basic income and one-time special adviser to the governor on poverty issues, Fryday, 44, is well-connected. In addition to serving in Newsom's Cabinet, he works closely with his spouse, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who herself was once viewed as a possible contender for the state's No. 2 office. Fryday clerked for Kamala Harris when she was district attorney of San Francisco, staffing her at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and was chief operating officer for billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate. Fryday also served in Yokosuka, Japan, on relief efforts after the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster and was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, where he worked on detainee cases. 'When you serve, and this is my experience, that's when you get to feel what it's like to have a common bond with other people, especially people from very different backgrounds and perspectives, who think differently than you, look different and probably vote differently than you,' he said. 'That experience to be part of something that's bigger than you with other people, we just don't provide that in our society enough.' He wants to use partnerships with the private sector to scale up versions of his programs. 'This is saying to everyone, 'we actually need you to tackle some of the big challenges that we have.' And I know people are hungry for that.' Fryday's collection of service-based state outfits have been a model for state and national efforts focused on education and global warming, among other issues. John Podesta, former White House chief of staff and the nation's top climate diplomat in the Biden administration, credited California's Climate Action Corps as the inspiration for the American Climate Corps, which is focused on climate change prevention. The journalist James Fallows, writing days ahead of Trump's victory, praised Fryday and his CalVolunteers' College Corps, whose members spend 450 hours tutoring and mentoring younger students in exchange for up to $10,000 toward college expenses. It set the template for a similar program in New York. And Newsom referred to Fryday as 'my own Sarge Shriver,' the ambassador who married into the Kennedy family, founded the Peace Corps and Head Start and started the Special Olympics. Newsom considers Shriver one of his heroes and urged Fryday to read his biography when he started in the role. Fryday, in turn, has made that a requirement for his senior staff. He said he plans to remain in the state Cabinet post while running for office. 'What we're trying to build, what I've been building, and what I hope to continue building is very much in that Kennedy spirit of calling on people to serve, asking people to be engaged, and expecting people to be engaged, and then actually creating opportunities for them to be engaged,' Fryday said. The lieutenant governor in California is independently elected and sits on higher education and environmental posts, but there is little in the way of defined responsibility and even less in the way of hard power. That makes it a blank canvas of sorts for candidates to pour their desires onto. While there's a musical chairs quality to the shifting statewide candidate field — thanks in large part to Harris' potential to scatter the Democratic field in the 2026 governor's race — Fryday and Tubbs are joined by Treasurer Fiona Ma and state Sen. Steven Bradford. Ma has a big early edge in fundraising. Fryday's team is led by one of the country's premier pollsters, David Binder, along with Nick Baldick of Hilltop Public Solutions and Mattis Goldman of Three Point Media. Fryday said he spoke with Newsom about his run, but declined to reveal specifics of their private conversations. 'I think he's proud of what we've built and the work that we are doing,' he said of his boss. 'I think he sees how impactful it is across the state, how many people it's helping, communities it's serving. And I think he wants to see it continue to grow.'
Politico
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Newsom's ‘Sargent Shriver' running for California lieutenant governor
SACRAMENTO, California — A close aide to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who helped expand California's New Deal-inspired service programs into a network larger than the Peace Corps, on Wednesday will announce his 2026 campaign for lieutenant governor, joining a crowded field that includes political veterans and a nationally recognized anti-poverty advocate. Josh Fryday, Newsom's chief service officer and previously a Navy JAG officer and mayor of the Northern California town Novato, outlined to POLITICO a campaign focused on expanding volunteer service and job pathways, hunkering down to meet the state's ambitious climate goals and speeding up the construction of millions more homes in the Golden State. Fryday's effort recalls a bygone time in American politics when elected leaders from both major political parties bonded over their shared experiences in service — often in the military. At the root of his upbeat, perhaps quaint, message, at a time of incessant partisan rancor, sky-high distrust in the country's institutions and what the last surgeon general diagnosed as 'an epidemic of loneliness,' is the idea that government — which Fryday views as a vast collection of mostly well-intentioned people — 'can be a force for good.' 'We're in a moment where we have to recognize that political division and extremism isn't going to improve anybody's life, and we have to also be honest that government is not going to solve everything — it can't alone,' he said in an interview. 'It's actually up to us — the people of the state — to fix the communities we love. And the lieutenant governor can play a critical role in bringing people together to engage and empower everyone in new ways.' Like another Democrat in the race, 34-year-old former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, a pioneer for universal basic income and one-time special adviser to the governor on poverty issues, Fryday, 44, is well-connected. In addition to serving in Newsom's Cabinet, he works closely with his spouse, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who herself was once viewed as a possible contender for the state's No. 2 office. Fryday clerked for Kamala Harris when she was district attorney of San Francisco, staffing her at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and was chief operating officer for billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate. Fryday also served in Yokosuka, Japan, on relief efforts after the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster and was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, where he worked on detainee cases. 'When you serve, and this is my experience, that's when you get to feel what it's like to have a common bond with other people, especially people from very different backgrounds and perspectives, who think differently than you, look different and probably vote differently than you,' he said. 'That experience to be part of something that's bigger than you with other people, we just don't provide that in our society enough.' He wants to use partnerships with the private sector to scale up versions of his programs. 'This is saying to everyone, 'we actually need you to tackle some of the big challenges that we have.' And I know people are hungry for that.' Fryday's collection of service-based state outfits have been a model for state and national efforts focused on education and global warming, among other issues. John Podesta, former White House chief of staff and the nation's top climate diplomat in the Biden administration, credited California's Climate Action Corps as the inspiration for the American Climate Corps, which is focused on climate change prevention. The journalist James Fallows, writing days ahead of Trump's victory, praised Fryday and his CalVolunteers' College Corps, whose members spend 450 hours tutoring and mentoring younger students in exchange for up to $10,000 toward college expenses. It set the template for a similar program in New York. And Newsom referred to Fryday as 'my own Sarge Shriver,' the ambassador who married into the Kennedy family, founded the Peace Corps and Head Start and started the Special Olympics. Newsom considers Shriver one of his heroes and urged Fryday to read his biography when he started in the role. Fryday, in turn, has made that a requirement for his senior staff. He said he plans to remain in the state Cabinet post while running for office. 'What we're trying to build, what I've been building, and what I hope to continue building is very much in that Kennedy spirit of calling on people to serve, asking people to be engaged, and expecting people to be engaged, and then actually creating opportunities for them to be engaged,' Fryday said. The lieutenant governor in California is independently elected and sits on higher education and environmental posts, but there is little in the way of defined responsibility and even less in the way of hard power. That makes it a blank canvas of sorts for candidates to pour their desires onto. While there's a musical chairs quality to the shifting statewide candidate field — thanks in large part to Harris' potential to scatter the Democratic field in the 2026 governor's race — Fryday and Tubbs are joined by Treasurer Fiona Ma and state Sen. Steven Bradford. Ma has a big early edge in fundraising. Fryday's team is led by one of the country's premier pollsters, David Binder, along with Nick Baldick of Hilltop Public Solutions and Mattis Goldman of Three Point Media. Fryday said he spoke with Newsom about his run, but declined to reveal specifics of their private conversations. 'I think he's proud of what we've built and the work that we are doing,' he said of his boss. 'I think he sees how impactful it is across the state, how many people it's helping, communities it's serving. And I think he wants to see it continue to grow.'
