Jay O'Brien
@jayobtv
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Capitol Hill Correspondent @ABC News • Tweets frequently about Florida • Has a lot of questions
Joined November 2014
BREAKING: All South Florida schools have now mandated masks and defied Governor DeSantis. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Co. The last domino to fall was Palm Beach County. The school board eliminated the mask opt-out after a lengthy meeting tonight.
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SCOOP: The State or Florida threatened the Special Olympics with $27.5 MILLION in fines because the organization had a vaccine requirement at its games in Orlando this weekend. Late yesterday, the Special Olympics pulled the requirement. 1/3.
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NEW: @GovRonDeSantis says the anniversary of January 6th is “not something that most Floridians have been concerned about.”. Says events in DC today will be “nauseating” and a “politicized Charlie Foxtrot” (ask your military friends what that last phrase means).
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First sentences in a federal judge’s order blocking FL’s Stop Woke Act:. “In the popular television series Stranger Things, the upside down describes a parallel dimension containing a distorted version of our world. Recently, Florida has seemed like a First Amendment upside down”.
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There are no state run COVID testing sites in Florida. The lines you’re seeing are from overburdened testing sites run by counties, municipalities, and private organizations.
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Confirmed: @CBS12 News is not allowed into the event where @GovRonDeSantis will sign a controversial elections bill into law, per @MadelineTV who is outside. We were a pool camera, assigned to feed this event to affiliates nationwide. Now, the only camera will be Fox News.
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Then, the Special Olympics put out this notice. “We don’t want to fight. We want to play,” it says at the end. 3/3
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Truck driving around Trump crowd outside of CPAC reads “January 6th Reunion.”
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Florida said the vaccine rule conflicted with state law, and disqualified Special Olympics athletes from competing based on their vaccine status. State said they heard from athletes and families of athletes who complained. Here’s the letter the state sent. 2/3
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Remember this press conference on the steps of the Supreme Court - doctors touting hydroxychloroquine, prompting praise from then-President Trump and Google, Twitter, and Facebook to take the video down?. Florida’s new Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, was a speaker. 👇
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NEW: Florida Surgeon General says Biden Admin is "actively preventing" distribution of monoclonal antibodies by pausing shipments of Regeneron, in letter to HHS Sec. Feds paused Regeneron bc it may not work against Omicron. FL says it can still be used in existing Delta cases.
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.@GovRonDeSantis is holding a press conference on this right now. "This will be a relief to a lot of the athletes," he says. "There's a significant number of them who were in limbo up until this week.".
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Can we talk about how this massive, headline-making question was asked by a STUDENT JOURNALIST?!. Absolutely fantastic. Johnson has since said he misheard this question.
BREAKING: I asked @SpeakerJohnson if he’ll try to repeal the CHIPS Act if Trump wins and they have control of Congress. “I expect that we probably will.”. @RepWilliams responds: “I will remind him night and day how important the CHIPS Act is.” #NY22 . @CitrusTVNews 🚨
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SEN RICK SCOTT: “If you violate the law you should be prosecuted.”. ABC: “What about those [Jan 6 rioters] who assaulted police officers and then were pardoned by the president?”. SCOTT: “I haven’t gone into the detail.”
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Worth pointing out that in February 2021 @GovRonDeSantis was named an Honorary Co-Chair of the 2022 Special Olympics. Here's a video of it.
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Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) to me just now—. ABC: Have you seen the stock market this morning? .ROUNDS: I’ve looked at it a couple of times.ABC: Are you concerned?.ROUNDS: Yep.
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First ever remote political convention (#DNC2020) begins with preamble of the Constitution (including @fred_guttenberg). Then, virtual singing of the National Anthem using performers from all 50 states. #DemConvention
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NEW: Florida State Board of Education has voted unanimously to punish Broward and Alachua counties for mandating masks in schools. Exact punishment will come after more investigation. Could include targeting salaries of officials or removing school board members.
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NEW: Another Florida school district reverses course on masks. Palm Beach County Schools - one of largest districts in state - says mask *will be required* for start of school. Says parents can opt-out in a signed note, similar to the “mandate” Duval County has. 1/2 @CBS12.
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It’s not just us. Not a single reporter is being let in. This in a “sunshine” state that prides itself on open government.
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NEW: In a confirmation hearing tonight, Florida Surgeon General also doubles down on his testing policy. “It’s just not a feasible strategy to manage a contagious respiratory virus by testing people who don’t have symptoms.” . CDC disagrees.
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This isn't a story about the press being locked out of an event. It's about Floridians who had their eyes and ears in that room cut off. @GovRonDeSantis signed a law today that will impact ALL Floridians. And only some viewers were allowed to see it. That's not normal.
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NEW: Florida's Surgeon General released new COVID guidance titled "Buck the CDC.". Recommendations: .- Advises against wearing mask in "community setting" including employer-employee requirements .- Give doctors ability to treat COVID w/ "off label" prescriptions . 1/2.
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NEW: @GovRonDeSantis announces the State of Florida will sue the Biden Administration over workplace vaccine rule. By my count, this is at least the 4th time DeSantis Administration has sued Biden Administration this year.
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TWO lawsuits now filed challenging Florida's new election law. Looks like they were filed almost the moment @GovRonDeSantis signed the bill into law. Just about every voting rights group is signed on to one of these. (League of Women Voters, NAACP, Common Cause, etc).
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My tie tonight, for Jaime. @fred_guttenberg
Today, we wear orange for all of the victims of gun violence. For my family, orange is more than just the color of gun safety, it was Jaime's favorite color. I will be wearing orange for Jaime.
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NEW: Speaking to a conservative college group, Florida @GovRonDeSantis says “I want to wish Joe Biden a speedy recovery from COVID and I want to wish America a speedy recovery from Joe Biden.”.
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Most interesting part of what McCaul recounts to me here is that Pelosi took this photo, he says, AFTER she broke her hip. She powered thru, took the picture, then went to the hospital, McCaul says.
"She had a hip replacement. I was right next to her. She likes to wear high heels. Very high. She was on one of her last steps on this marble staircase that didn't have a railing. She lost her footing and fell to the ground. I immediately helped pick her up.". - McCaul on Pelosi
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NEW: Florida says its bracing for a big reduction in monoclonal antibody doses. Blames the Biden Administration. @GovRonDeSantis' office released these #'s: .- 72,000 doses is average need for hospitals + state clinics.- 30,950 total doses were allocated by feds this week.
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Gosh @jonathanvswan is an excellent interviewer.
.@LindseyGrahamSC to @jonathanvswan: "I could throw [Trump] over tomorrow. Why aren't I?". Swan: "Yeah. That's what I really don't understand.". Graham: "Well, then you don't understand me very much." . Swan: "I don't. That's why I'm asking you." #AxiosOnHBO
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Former President Donald Trump has requested a mail in ballot for Palm Beach County’s municipal elections on March 9th.
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Give it up for @NOTUSreports. They really summed up the last few days in a headline. @reesejgorman & @riley_rogerson
New: A House Dem told us that during the issues conference in Feb, with Biden “everything was tightly controlled and scripted” that “designated members reading a few pre-approved questions from cue cards”. “Something has changed, and his handlers know it.”.
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Students with disabilities can still opt out, but that’s it in Palm Beach County. Passed by a 6-1 vote of the school board, after an evening full of public comment.
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Some facts about this bill.- restricts the availability of ballot drop boxes .- requires voters request mail ballots every general election .- adds new ID requirements when requesting a ballot .- bans moving drop boxes, like the official “ballot vans” used by Palm Beach County.
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NEW: @GovRonDeSantis announces Florida will receive an additional 30,000 monoclonal antibody doses from the Biden Administration. Comes after the governor held at least two events this week, pressuring the feds to increase their shipments.
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.@elonmusk tells ABC’s @arthurjonesii that reporting he’s donating $45M a month to Donald Trump is a “fiction.”
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The COVID messaging divide is growing in Florida. This is how @GovRonDeSantis and one of his chief rivals, Dem candidate for Gov @NikkiFried, reacted to CDC masking guidance at pressers today. Fried, as current Ag commissioner, is now holding her own daily COVID updates.
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After losing her bid for a seat in Congress, Rebekah Jones - the Florida COVID dashboard designer who gained fame for claiming widespread data fraud without any proof - is now again asking for donations.
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SO - .I’ve finally read the Florida Dept of Health Inspector General report on Rebekah Jones, finding her claims of falsified COVID data “unsubstantiated” and “unfounded.” . Two takeaways….
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.@fred_guttenberg's daughter Jaime was one of the 17 who lost their lives in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School two years ago today. He says Feb. 14th is just another day for families who will never be whole again. #Parkland #ParklandAnniversary @CBS12
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NEW: @GovRonDeSantis tells me kids who had COVID exposure but *no symptoms* should NOT be quarantined away from school. “Quarantining healthy kids deprives these kids of an ability to get an education.”. Says kids with symptoms should stay home.
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This obviously doesn’t include private schools, which make their own mask policies.
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BREAKING: Florida Attorney General orders investigation into @MikeBloomberg pledge to spend $16 million to allow convicted felons to vote in Florida. Comes after request from @GovRonDeSantis, a republican and Trump ally. #Election2020
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This is what it looks like. An interview with with Fox and Friends doubling as a bill signing.
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“Jaime Guttenberg’s dad Fred.” What a perfect description @fred_guttenberg.
Jaime Guttenberg's dad Fred has become one of the most powerful voices advocating for gun control since she was killed.
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NEW: @GovRonDeSantis named one of Time’s 100 most influential people of 2022. Blurb written by former FL Gov Jeb Bush.
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NEW: @GovRonDeSantis announces re-election bid AND laughs off 2024 speculation in interview with me. BUT - says Republican voters “want to see somebody that will get things done, and lead” and said those voters “look to me, for whatever reason, for that.”
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Remarks came in a telling split-screen. DeSantis was speaking as President Biden and Vice President Harris prepared to address the nation, saying Democracy withstood a serious attack on January 6th. Worth pointing out Florida leads the nation in Capitol rioters arrested w/ 70.
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Parkland dad @fred_guttenberg has often spoken of when @JoeBiden reached out to counsel him on loss and purpose. His reaction yesterday. Equally as strong today.👇.
Jaime, WE DID IT!!! . Since the day Jaime was murdered I have kept my emotions in check because we needed to get this done. Today, I am going to have a drink and I am going to cry like a baby🧡
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More here 👇. Mask mandate for all students in Palm Beach County, opt-out option eliminated
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From @MadelineTV outside.
We’ve been at the Hilton since 4 this morning, only to be told we can’t go in to hear the governor speak or sign the elections bill. @CBS12
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NEW: 8 Florida school districts are now mandating masks and openly flouting @GovRonDeSantis + state regulations. Alachua, Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Leon, Sarasota, and now Duval. Many of these counties are also home to FL's biggest cities.
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NEW: A large Florida school district tells the state it *won't* back down on masks. This is the letter Palm Beach County School District just sent FL Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. State gave district until today to back down on mandatory masking or face funding cuts
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2) This report isn’t just a triumph of the truth - it’s a victory for the public health experts who were bullied and vilified on social media for standing up to Jones. Many of them spoke to us for this piece. Some anonymously. 👇.
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Another update to this story from FL Surgeon General 👇.
After being initially disqualified due to their COVID-19 vaccination status, I’m happy to announce that 70 athletes have already been reintegrated with their 500 teammates of the Florida delegation and will compete at the Special Olympics in Orlando!.
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The thing about the Rebekah Jones saga: there’s no evidence to support what she’s claimed. Simply none and we’ve all looked. But, that won’t stop people on Twitter from taking her at her word. So, this will never truly be over until people just stop paying attention.
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EXCLUSIVE: @GovRonDeSantis defends his comment last week labeling the Biden Admin “the Brandon Administration.” Calls it “a joke.”. When pressed, says it was no worse than what was said about Trump. More on vaccine mandates and masking to come. @CBS12
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Not to overly litigate one specific claim: but if ballot drop boxes = “ballot harvesting” then Republicans would have a huge problem in Florida. State went huge for Trump and uses ballot drop boxes at all elections offices and early voting sites.
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1) It CANNOT be overstated the damage these now disproven allegations had on the trust between the State of Florida and the people. In particular, what claims like this did to the morale of decent public servants who were battling daily with the pandemic.
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13 states have so-called trigger laws that would automatically ban practically all abortions if SCOTUS overturns Roe. They are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
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This is the most intimate and heartfelt piece on Joe Biden I’ve ever read.
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NEW: FL State Sen Jason Pizzo (D-Miami Dade) has filed a request for an emergency injunction, asking a Tallahassee judge to prevent @GovRonDeSantis’s administration from using state funds to pay for any future migrant flights.
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Talking to a number of Florida Democrats tonight. Haven’t heard them this optimistic in a LONG time.
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“We are going after this kid,” Mike Lindell says about a reporter. Wow.
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NEW: The ICU in a rural Florida hospital is FULL tonight. Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade is out of ICU beds, according to the Palm Beach Co Health Care District. Source says 11 of the 12 beds have COVID patients.
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TAMPA MAYOR just confirmed TikTok celebrity “Lieutenant Dan” — who lives on his boat and rode out Hurricane Helene — has agreed to go to a shelter. If he can, you can.
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The moment he signed the bill. "I'm not a fan of drop boxes at all to be honest with you" he said in the interview.
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We met up with the first Gen Z congressman, @MaxwellFrostFL, as he picked out his congressional office. Parts of our conversation on his rise, bipartisanship, gun violence, and more to come.
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NEW: One of Florida’s largest hospital systems, Advent Health, has suspended all vaccine requirements for employees. Cites federal court decisions and “complexity” of state and federal laws. FL has a new law requiring employers to adhere to a set of vax opt outs.
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Fired federal workers pile into moderate Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office to protest Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE
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NEW: Proposal to cut $200 million in funding from 12 Florida school districts that mandated masks now in hands of FL Senate after House passed state budget last week. Here's some of what Palm Beach Co. Superintendent told me in interview tonight. District set to lose $20+ mill
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And this is how the drama ends. @DanielleCBS12 was outside.
There goes the Governor. He Said the event wasn’t secret, “it was on national news”
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EXCLUSIVE: @CBS12 interviews Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and congressional candidate in @realDonaldTrump's home district . She is a self described "proud Islamophobe", supported by President Trump and the local Republican Party. Thursday @ 11pm on CBS 12. #Election2020
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A stern statement from @RepBrianMast on Afghanistan. “This is truly the worst-case scenario. If they let me, I would go back tomorrow to help in any way possible.” . Mast is a combat veteran who lost both legs to an IED near Kandahar.
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EXCLUSIVE: Florida Surgeon General balks at FDA's decision to limit use of Regeneron and Eli Lilly monoclonals because they're ineffective against Omicron. Says he wants more clinical data to back up decision. Here's a portion of our interview. More to come.
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When I moved to Florida three years ago, my rent was $1,400. The same apartment now rents for well over $2,000. Every day, we hear from people - many calling our newsroom - who are getting priced out of their homes.
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NEW: Photos of Parkland dad @manueloliver00 arrested for climbing a crane near the White House and protesting lack of action on gun violence. Unfurled a banner with a picture of his son, Joaquin - one of the 17 killed in Marjory Stoneman Douglas 4 years ago today.
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NEW: Florida’s new Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, was a strong proponent of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID. He was in a viral video - now removed from social media - discussing his belief that the drug helps COVID patients. Here’s a portion 👇
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.@GovRonDeSantis repeatedly said there was no "exclusive" deal with Publix to distribute the vaccine in Palm Beach County. But, in January the county's health director (a state employee) said all future doses would go to Publix and not her office. At governors direction. 1/3
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.@JaredEMoskowitz (D-FL) is wearing a Vladimir Putin mask to today’s House Oversight impeachment hearing. Photo per his office.
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NEW: An ENTIRE elementary school in Florida is *closed* until Labor Day due to COVID. Officials confirmed to @DanielleCBS12 Beachland Elementary in Vero Beach was closed bc of COVID, but didn’t specificy if it was bc of high cases, quarantines due to exposure, or both.
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One surprising thing from reporting on Rebekah Jones: . Respected public health experts + current DOH employees are fearful of her online persona. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity, worried about what Jones/her followers would do to them personally and professionally.
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Here’s moment @GovRonDeSantis mentioned First Lady Casey DeSantis’ breast cancer during his State of State. “And, I’ll tell you this , 2022 is the year she will be cancer free.”
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Letter goes on to reference Biden's remarks yesterday: ."President Biden recently states that there is no federal solution to COVID-19. Therefore, I respectfully request that you allow states and healthcare practitioners to provide treatment options. ".
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NEW: This morning @GovRonDeSantis is expected to sign a slate of anti-vaccine mandate bills at BRANDON HONDA in Brandon, FL. He’s repeatedly mentioned the “Let’s Go Brandon” chant. Here was his response when we pressed him on it last week 👇.
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Our Senior Congressional Correspondeng @rachelvscott asking a completely fair and reasonable question. GOP lawmakers then shouting at her to shut up. It needed to be asked. Proud to work with her.
Reporter: You help lead the effort to overturn the 2020 election results, do you—. Republicans: *boo* shut up
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One perk of working late… I’ve never been in here completely alone. Never experienced anything quite like it.
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