The Wheels Are Off in the Florida Capitol: 'A Poorly Written Episode of the West Wing'

TALLAHASSEE—The Florida Senate Democratic leader quit the party. The House Speaker blasted the Senate president. An ex-Republican may run for governor as a Democrat. The attorney general accused a fellow GOP lawmaker of defamation. And the Session won't end.

At least, not on time.

Thursday, April 24, 2025, marked a day of dysfunction not seen in modern memory in Florida’s Capitol, according to four politicos who spoke to The Floridian.

“It's like a poorly written episode of the 'West Wing, '" said one Republican lobbyist, granted anonymity to speak freely. "This is my 18th session, and I've never seen anything like this."

Democrat Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed, writing, "Never! Never!" in a text message.

The stir of dissent, rebellion, and confusion sprinkled into what was supposed to be the penultimate week of the session left Republicans and Democrats alike scratching their heads and scrambling for cover.

Thursday's chaos, created by and within both parties, is the result of building tension between Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Republicans—never before seen in the 46th governor's tenure—and the shaky remains of Florida's Democratic Party, currently suffering over 1.2 million fewer registered voters than their Republican counterparts, attempting to rebuild their once formidable party on a fractured foundation.

"As the one time Florida tourism slogan once declared: Florida. It's different here," said Steve Shale, a Democrat political strategist, of the day's political turmoil.

What Happened?

Thursday, the 54th day of the scheduled 60-day legislative session, started with an early morning scoop from POLITICO: former Republican congressman David Jolly, who's "very close" to launching a gubernatorial bid, changed his voter registration from no-party affiliation to Democrat and launched a political committee.

Jolly would be the first high-profile registered Democrat to jump into the gubernatorial race to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Hours later, the infighting began:

A spokesperson for Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, publicly accused GOP state Rep. Alex Andrade of defamation, threatening legal action.

This was a direct response to Andrade claiming Uthmeier committed fraud and money laundering, alleging that Uthmeier's anti-marijuana political committee accepted millions from First Lady Casey DeSantis's charity, Hope Florida, after it was funneled through two non-profits.

Adding to the drama, the head of one of the non-profits then made a bombshell allegation: Andrade pressured her to testify at his investigative hearing into Hope Florida, threatening to vote down her group's request for state money.

Not to be outdone, Senate President Ben Albritton then announced that the House and Senate would not reach a deal on the upcoming budget on time—meaning the Session, scheduled to end May 2, will either be extended or picked up at a later date. Though he lauded House Speaker Danny Perez as a "good partner," Perez had a different response.

"I appreciate the President's talk of metrics and studies, but all of that is code for 'let's spend money now and worry about how to save it later,'" Perez said from the House Floor, bashing the Senate's budget proposal for its "pathological overspending."

A top Republican, granted anonymity to speak freely, told The Floridian, "Danny Perez has lost the faith and confidence of everyone in the process—If there were a secret vote right now to replace the Speaker, he would lose."

"I've never seen anything like this," the source continued. "Perez is the worst Speaker I've ever seen."

That was the Republicans.

Minutes after the Floor Session, Senate Democrat Leader Jason Pizzo made a shock announcement: he would be stepping down as Leader and re-registering as an Independent.

Why?

"The Democratic Party is dead," Pizzo said, and Democrats don't want him to be the one to "resuscitate" it.