Trump-endorsed Floridian launches bid to replace Mike Waltz following administration nomination



On Tuesday, Republican state Sen. Randy Fine of Florida announced his bid to replace Republican Rep. Mike Waltz after securing an endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump.

Fine is running to replace Waltz after Trump tapped the outgoing congressman to serve as national security adviser in the upcoming administration. Waltz confirmed Monday that he would resign from his post on Inauguration Day.

'It is my belief that President Trump is our nation's last, best chance to right the ship.'

“I’m proud to announce that I’m going to be running for the 6th Congressional District of the state of Florida,” Fine told Fox News on Tuesday. “Whether it’s fighting inflation to make America affordable again, closing the border to make America safe again, or standing up for Israel and standing up to China, I’m ready to go.”

Trump also endorsed Fine on Monday ahead of his official announcement, noting his allegiance to the MAGA movement.

"A Harvard Educated, Successful Businessman, and Highly Respected State Legislator, Randy has been an incredible Voice for MAGA, and the Great People of Florida," Trump said. "In Congress, Randy will be an INCREDIBLE Fighter who will work tirelessly with me to Stop Inflation, Grow our Economy, Secure the Border, Champion our Military/Vets, Restore American Energy DOMINANCE, Protect our always under siege Second Amendment, and Restore PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH."

In response, Fine praised the president-elect and pledged to work alongside him.

"Clearly Mom wasted no time once she made it upstairs," Fine said. "Mr. President, G-d saved you on that day in Butler so that you could save the world. It would be the honor of my life to be one of your footsoldiers."

Fine resigned from his state Senate seat on Tuesday amid his campaign launch, just one month into his term. His resignation will go into effect beginning March 31.

"It is my belief that President Trump is our nation's last, best chance to right the ship," Fine said in his resignation letter. "And with his statement this weekend, he believes I can help. I owe it to those same children that I entered office to serve to join that fight. While I am sorry that my service in the Senate will be abbreviated, it seems that my path will return me to a People's House where I will fight for Floridians under the familiar title of Representative."

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DeSantis calls out NBC anchor for trying to use false narrative to smear him: 'Don't give somebody 15 minutes of fame'



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called out NBC News anchor Kristen Welker on Sunday for leveraging criticism from a single person to suggest he is soft on neo-Nazis.

On "Meet the Press," Welker amplified complaints from Florida state Rep. Randy Fine (R), who recently endorsed Donald Trump over DeSantis. Fine said he broke from DeSantis because, in his view, the governor has not done enough to support Jews. Fine claimed DeSantis did not adequately denounce neo-Nazis last year and did not do enough to build a Holocaust memorial that Fine wanted.

Politico, meanwhile, noted that some Florida Republicans saw Fine's decision to break from DeSantis as "petty" and "disloyal."

Still, Welker forced DeSantis to respond to Fine's criticism, particularly his complaint that DeSantis failed to denounce sufficiently a group of neo-Nazis that gathered in Tampa last year.

DeSantis told Welker that Fine is "just trying to get his 15 minutes of fame" before reciting the laundry list of pro-Jewish actions he has taken as governor. But Welker was not satisfied and even suggested that DeSantis intentionally did not speak out against the neo-Nazis.

"Your state has heard from both Marco Rubio and Rick Scott condemning those neo-Nazi protests," Welker said. "Why didn't you speak out? Why didn't you use your voice to say that you're not going to stand for that?"

"Of course we condemn that. Just look at everything that we've done in terms of our policies —" DeSantis responded.

"But you didn't at the time, Governor," Welker interrupted. "You didn't at the time, according to Randy Fine. According to Randy Fine, you did not at the time —"

It was at that point that DeSantis had enough of Welker's attempts to use the criticism of a single person to smear him, telling Welker it's unacceptable to weaponize against him the narrative that Fine single-handedly concocted.

"He's just trying to create a name for himself, so that's all nonsense. Everybody knows that's nonsense," DeSantis said.

He then instructed Welker, "Don't give somebody 15 minutes of fame just because they're letting you try to do a preferred narrative just to hit me. It's nonsense. Our record is second to none, and we'll continue to lead on these issues."

There is, of course, no evidence that DeSantis is a neo-Nazi sympathizer. By all accounts, DeSantis has stood strongly with Jewish Floridians and against anti-Semitism.

Full DeSantis: Hamas ‘wants nothing less than another Holocaust’youtu.be

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Florida takes action after transgender student, born male, allegedly assaults girl in school bathroom



The Florida Department of Education will develop rules requiring school districts to notify parents if their children are forced to share bathrooms and locker rooms with students of the opposite sex after an alleged sexual assault of a girl by a transgender student in a Florida public school bathroom was reported.

The incident allegedly occurred on June 20 at Space Coast Jr./Sr. High school in Brevard County, according to a police report shared on Facebook by state Rep. Randy Fine (R). A female student reported that a transgender peer, a male who identifies as female, came into the girls bathroom and "fondled" her breasts.

“We find this allegation deeply disturbing and troubling. Clearly, if Brevard Public Schools had commonsense policies that separate bathrooms and locker rooms by biological sex at birth, this incident would not have been possible,” Alex Lanfranconi, director of communications at the Florida Department of Education, said in a statement given to the Daily Wire Thursday.

“Unfortunately, some districts choose wokeness over the safety of their students,” Lanfranconi continued. “The Florida Department of Education will continue to take all steps within its power to protect parental rights and student safety by developing rules that will notify parents if their children are at risk of exposure to these types of situations.”

Fine first publicized the alleged sexual assault last week in a series of posts on social media. He wrote a letter to the Florida Department of Education requesting "immediate assistance in investigating an alleged sexual assault between a 'transgender girl' and another girl that allegedly took place in the bathroom of Johnson Middle School over the summer."

Brevard Public Schools officials denied the allegation and said no such incident happened at Johnson Middle School.

“There was no attack. No victim, no witness, no parents coming forward, nothing,” school district spokesman Russell Bruhn told the Orlando Sentinel. “Rep. Fine owes our staff at Johnson Middle School an apology for making this baseless allegation.”

Police officers from the Melbourne police department were assigned to investigate the lawmaker's allegation.

However, Fine later clarified that his letter had incorrectly identified the school where the assault allegedly took place.

"The claim as shared to me by parents was correct in all respects, save one: as things went through the game of telephone, it happened at a different school," Fine wrote in an Aug. 18 Facebook post.

"It is with no joy that I share that we now have proof there was a 'transgender' sexual assault incident this summer in Brevard Government Schools," Fine wrote, sharing a case report from the Brevard County sheriff's office.

Names of the students involved in the alleged incident were redacted because they are minors.

According to the report, a female student told the Brevard County sheriff's office that at around 11:45 am on June 20, she went to the girls' bathroom and a transgender student, a male who identifies as female, walked into the bathroom shortly after her. The transgender student began talking to her and then "fondled her breasts against her will and without her permission," the police report said.

The girl informed the sheriff's office she had previously told this transgender student to stop touching her and said she wanted to press charges because she felt "violated." She also said she does not feel comfortable using the same bathroom with the transgender student, according to police.

The transgender student denied touching the girls breasts but admitted to being in the bathroom with her, the report said.

The girl reported the incident to police on June 21. The case report said Space Coast Jr./Sr. High school Vice Principle Andy Papczynski was present when the the transgender student was interviewed by police and knew about the allegations.

School spokesman Russell Bruhn confirmed to the Daily Wire that "the incident at Space Coast Jr./Sr. High School was reported by the school to the Sheriff’s Office, Florida DCF and our Title IX partner.”

“All three investigated the claims and all three closed their cases with no action,” he said. “What was described in the Sheriff’s Office report is an incident that lead to no charges being filed. My quotes were in reference to a false allegation that a student had been raped at a different school.”

Bruhn also told the Daily Wire that school officials were aware of the incident at the time he denied a sexual assault took place at Johnson Middle School, but said they could not discuss the case without "violating FERPA, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act."

“And again, the actual case and the fabricated cases are different,” he said.

Fine blasted school officials for having knowledge of the alleged incident while denying that any sexual assaults took place in school bathrooms.

"We should be able to trust Brevard Government Schools to put our children first. To not hide criminal activity that hurts our children. Brevard Government Schools should have openly and transparently addressed the concerns of these parents. But they refused, and even worse, gaslighted the public when I brought the issue to light," he wrote on Facebook.

"We should not be surprised," he added, "they believe boys should use the girls' bathroom."

Florida state Rep. Randy Fine plans to push legislation to make it felony child abuse to give minors gender reassignment surgery or drugs



Florida state Rep. Randy Fine said that he plans to push legislation to make it felony chid abuse to give kids drugs or surgeries for gender reassignment.

"I've had enough of this nonsense. Next session, I will help shepherd legislation to make it illegal to provide drugs or surgery to a minor for the purpose of alleged 'gender assignment.' The legislation will make it felony child abuse punishable by prison and loss of medical license. This legislation would not affect mental counseling," Fine, a Republican, declared on social media.

"If an adult wants to self-mutilate their body in pursuit of the fiction that they can defy both G-d and science, more power to them -- so long as they don't expect me to pay for it. But no child should be put in the position of making fundamentally life-altering decisions before they are of the age of majority," he noted. "I can call myself a porcupine, but that doesn't make it so. It is time for us to dispense with this fantasy -- one that is turning our women's sports into a joke and our schools into a cesspool."

Fine is up for re-election later this year, and the state's 2023 session won't commence until next year.

While many Floridians would likely support such legislation to protect kids, some state Democrats have already decried the proposal.

Democratic state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith said that Fine's proposal ought to "shock the conscience."

"Florida Republicans are on a dangerous course, retaliating against any person or business who expresses support for the LGBTQ+ community," Smith declared. "This latest threat to criminalize parents and doctors who provide life-saving care for LGBTQ youth should shock the conscience of all Floridians."

Democratic state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani called Fine's plan "dangerous" and said it would hurt "marginalized kids."

Republicans are on a dangerous course, retaliating against ANY person or business who expresses support for the LGBTQ+ community. This latest threat to criminalize parents and doctors who provide LIFE-SAVING CARE for LGBTQ youth should shock the conscience of all Floridians.pic.twitter.com/mj7SIUy3eR
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@Rep. Carlos G Smith) 1649103825


marginalized kids* \n\nAlso reminder: \u201cData indicate that 82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40% have attempted suicide, with suicidality highest among transgender youth.\u201d \n\nHelp solve problems, stop creating more of them.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32345113/
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28 (@Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28) 1649089993

Parents Say Public School Tied Mask On Their Nonverbal Special-Needs Child With Rope

A 7-year-old special needs girl was forced to wear a mask by her school for weeks without her parent's knowledge, at great risk to her health.

Florida Lawmaker Demands State Cut Ties With Tech Giants: They Decide Who They Do Business With — So Do We

Florida state Rep. Randy Fine asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to order the "immediate divestment of any Florida-held equity and debt" with the five big tech giants.