By Logan Luse and David Neuman, Young Republican National Federation
The red wave of this last election confirmed that Florida remains a Republican stronghold and a powerhouse of thought leadership and talent on the national stage.
From President Donald Trump and many of his top administration picks who call the Sunshine State home down to our forward-thinking congressional delegation, Florida is a force to be reckoned with. Now, we have an unprecedented opportunity to bring our successful “Florida Way” to the nation.
As Young Republicans, we believe a critical part of bringing the Florida Way to Washington is our legacy on the environment. While the GOP often — and unfairly — gets a bad rap on environmental issues, the truth is Florida Republicans have long embraced conservation and environmental stewardship, and especially now with the slew of environmental challenges facing our state.
Given the rapid transformation happening in D.C. and Florida’s positioning in American leadership, we should seize on this prime opportunity to help transform the GOP’s — and America’s — agenda on energy, climate and the environment.
A clear upside is within the Trump administration. A sizable number of Trump’s appointees are from Florida, and many of them have a background in environmental leadership
Sen. Marco Rubio, who is likely our nation’s next secretary of state, has been a member of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus for years and worked to improve our energy independence, clean our waterways, take on China’s pollution practices and advance Everglades restoration. Congressman Mike Waltz, President Trump’s future national security advisor, has built a record on conservation and calling out our adversaries like China for their environmental abuses. And Susie Wiles, soon chief of staff, has a green thumb, too; she had a key hand in Jacksonville’s environmental land conservation program.
More broadly, national GOP stars from the Florida delegation — like Reps. Kat Cammack and Byron Donalds and Sen. Rick Scott — together have been big voices on topics such as water quality, next-gen nuclear power and clean energy independence. Further, five of Florida’s representatives in the U.S. House are on the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, while six are members of the Conservative Climate Caucus.
Across levels of government, Florida’s elected leaders embrace classic conservative principles coupled with both a desire to preserve natural beauty and tackle complex environmental challenges — because there is nothing liberal about protecting the sun-soaked beaches and tropical wetlands that make Florida great. While that may seem novel to outsiders, this combination has long been a winning strategy for Republicans at the state level.
For instance, last year state Republicans led one of the most significant investments in environmental initiatives in our state’s history focused on direct ecosystem restoration and water quality improvements. This included taking on some of the state’s worst problems, like the waters of Indian River Lagoon.
This year, our state Legislature passed and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 1638 (Funding for Environmental Resource Management), which set up generous, permanent funding for land management, land conservation and water quality improvements. The Legislature also dedicated significant investment dollars to Everglades restoration, habitat restoration and climate resilience projects, including water quality monitoring, which is vitally important as floods increase in size and duration.
Additionally, lawmakers wisely recognized that one state can only do so much to protect itself from greenhouse gas pollution and advanced a “memorial” calling on Congress to hold foreign polluters, such as China and Russia, accountable for their pollution.
As Young Republicans, we’re excited to see Florida’s ever-expanding culture of environmental stewardship make its way to Washington. More and more Republicans in the Sunshine State are working to set a gold standard for environmental protection, while our state enjoys a booming economy and a growing population, and continues to turn deeper red with every election. We hope this Florida formula implants itself in Washington and transforms the conservative movement on this critical topic.
With control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, the GOP has an opportunity to muscle up in a way that wins the support of young voters who see climate and the environment as major priorities. With a positive, proactive attitude, we can advance policies built from the conservative playbook that actually work, like expanding the use of cleaner American energy as an alternative to dirtier foreign fuels or promoting technological innovations to tackle the biggest environmental challenges we face.
Florida Republicans have already shown how to defend our environment smartly while building a lasting governing majority. Now, Washington should bring this Florida spirit to the nation and advance truly conservative solutions to energy, climate and the environment.
Logan Luse is president-elect of the Space Coast Young Republicans and deputy executive director of the Young Republican National Federation. David Neuman is vice mayor of the city of Melbourne and chief of staff of the Young Republican National Federation. Banner photo: A “Welcome to Florida” sign (iStock image).
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