The Florida Senate confirmed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Executive Agency Heads this week.
DeSantis weighed in on Wednesday night.
“I am proud of the team we have assembled to lead our agencies, which include some of the brightest minds and leaders our state and nation have to offer,” said DeSantis. “I’d like to thank the Florida Senate for confirming my appointments and for recognizing their leadership and talent. I am confident they will advance our shared mission to serve and protect Floridians.”
The Florida Senate confirmed the following officials:
Mary Mayhew – Secretary, Agency for Health Care Administration
Barbara Palmer – Director, Agency for Persons with Disabilities
Halsey Beshears – Secretary, Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Chad Poppell – Secretary, Department of Children and Families
Kenneth Lawson – Executive Director, Department of Economic Opportunity
Richard Prudom – Secretary, Department of Elder Affairs
Noah Valenstein – Secretary, Department of Environmental Protection
Simone Marstiller – Secretary, Department of Juvenile Justice
James “Jim” Poppell – Secretary, Department of the Lottery
Jonathan Satter – Secretary, Department of Management Services
Mark Inch – Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections
Laurel Lee – Secretary of State, Florida Department of State
Kevin Thibault – Secretary, Florida Department of Transportation
Most of these nominees sailed through with little in the way of opposition but Senate Democrats put up a fight against Mayhew’s nomination.
Terrie Rizzo, the chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, weighed in after the Senate confirmed Mayhew on Wednesday.
“Mary Mayhew will cause mayhem to Florida’s health care system,” Rizzo said. “With Mayhew at the helm of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, Governor DeSantis has put people’s health care at risk. The destruction left in Mayhew’s wake from her time in Maine should have disqualified her to run Florida’s Medicaid program. The governor and GOP led legislature have taken a stand against the health and safety of Florida families with their support of Mary Mayhew.”
