Maxwell Frost says he won’t be an automatic ‘no’ on Trump agenda

By Mitch Perry

A rising star for the Florida Democrats who has previously called Donald Trump a “threat to the planet” said he intends to work with the incoming administration on certain issues but he vows that he is prepared to oppose “horrible” measures that he fears will be coming out of the White House.

Rep. Maxwell Frost, who just started his second term in office and at 27 remains the youngest member of Congress (he turns 28 next week), told the Florida Phoenix “I’m going to continue to do what I’ve done the past two years.”

Frost noted that despite his progressive reputation, a quarter of the bills that he’s introduced in the House of Representatives since being elected in 2022 have included more Republican co-sponsors than Democrats. (Congress.gov lists 20 bills that Frost sponsored during his first term in Congress. Five of them have GOP co-sponsors).

“We’re going to find ways that we can work with the administration, and I’m hoping maybe we can work on something related to guns,” he says. “I know that seems unlikely, but remember it was under Trump that we got the bump-stock ban. So maybe there’s room for that. We need to build more housing, and hopefully there’s room for that as well.”

Loud and effective

Despite his willingness to find common ground with President-elect Trump, Frost makes it clear that he remains part of the loyal opposition.

“We’re going to have to block and fight and resist ton a lot of the horrible extreme things that he wants to do,” Frost says. “And there’s a long list of those as well. So it’s going to be both. And what people elected me to do is be loud and be effective, and in D.C. oftentimes people frame it as one or the other.”

Frost rejects the notion that he should be categorized as being on one side of the equation or the other. He took exception to a recent article that compared him with South Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz in terms of their political styles and how they will work with the Trump administration.

“I thought it was funny because it played into this whole false binary where it’s like, “Are you going to resist or are you going to work with him?’” Frost says about the piece. “We’re going to do both. I don’t know why there’s any reason we couldn’t do both. That’s why people elected me.”

That said, the two Florida Democrats did vote differently on Tuesday when voting on the Laken Riley Act. That measure would require the Department of Homeland Security to take into custody undocumented immigrants who have been charged with burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also would allow state attorneys general to sue the federal government  if an immigrant who enters the country illegally and is released goes on to commit a crime.

Moskowitz was the lone Democratic member of the Florida congressional delegation to vote for the measure.

Fighting against extremism

Frost sits on the House Oversight Committee, which he maintains will continue to provide accountability on the incoming Trump administration. How effective that committee will be in holding Trump accountable may be questionable, however, as it is chaired by a Republican supporter of the new president, Kentucky’s James Comer.

“We’re going to fight back on the extreme parts of his agenda, and the parts of his agenda that are going to target the most vulnerable people,” Frost says. “And when he said he wanted to mass deport people. When he said he wanted to reverse the legal status of asylum seekers in this country like Haitian-Americans, people from Venezuela, people from Cuba, Nicaragua. I believe that. We’re going to fight against that.”

With less than two weeks left in his presidency, Frost is hoping that President Joe Biden will continue to push the envelope in taking executive actions before he makes way for Trump. Biden announced an offshore drilling ban on Monday and the commutation of federal prisoners who were on death row (two of those 37 men are now trying to block Biden’s action).

“I’d like to see more on immigration,” he says. “The administration has been working fast on work permits but in terms of TPS (Temporary Protected Status) redesignation and extension, I’d like to see that.”

He also notes how President Biden is now able to boast about the fact that he has now appointed more judges to the federal bench than Trump during his first term.

“There’s more work to do, but I’m really happy with what we’ve seen,” he says. 

This article originally appeared in the Florida Phoenix on January 8th,  2025

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Fact check: Why is Trump blaming the LA fires on Newsom’s water policies?

By Alastair Bland

In summary

President-elect Donald Trump faulted California water policies for the devastating wildfires that are burning in Los Angeles County. The fires started because of fierce winds and extremely dry conditions.

The Los Angeles County wildfires triggered a rant from President-elect Donald Trump, who blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom for depriving Southern California of water. Trump today repeated a claim he has made in the past, that state efforts “to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt” have caused pain and hardship in California. 

Florida leads the nation (again) In Obamacare enrollment

By Craig Pittman and Christine Sexton

More than 4.6 million Florida residents enrolled in an Obamacare plan through the “Marketplace” for 2025 health insurance coverage.

Data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that 4,633,650 residents signed up for insurance coverage through the Marketplace by the end of 2024. 

Nationally, CMS reports that 23.6 million people enrolled for 2025 coverage, including 3.2 million new consumers. Total enrollment is record-breaking, CMS said in a statement.

Four insurance companies and 12 health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are participating in the Florida Marketplace, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website shows. HMO coverage is regional and people must live in the area an HMO is authorized to operate in to enroll in the managed care plan.

The Marketplace is a centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the program but has offered no details.

“The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace and reforms have proven to be successful and critically important for millions of Americans and their families,” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a prepared statement. “Every American should have access to quality, affordable health care — and thanks to the ACA, they do. The Affordable Care Act now stands along with Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security as one of the most consequential social programs in the history of our nation.”

The CMS data does not show how many of the Florida consumers are new enrollees versus returning customers. But with 4,633,650 people enrolled, the data show that Florida leads the nation in enrollment. Rounding out the top three states for the most enrollment is Texas and California with 3,861,244 and 1,895,558 enrollees, respectively.

“Help is still available”

“We can’t lose sight of what’s behind our tremendous, record-setting progress: Millions of individuals and families who now have a critical connection to the lifeline of health care coverage,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “To the millions more who may still need coverage: Don’t delay. Help is still available, including tax credits that have made coverage more accessible by reducing the barrier posed by high costs.”

Open enrollment for 2025 health insurance coverage began Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15. Health insurance coverage took effect Jan. 1 for consumers who enrolled by Dec. 15. Health insurance coverage takes effect Feb. 1 for those who enroll by Jan. 15.

Although Republicans in Florida have not expanded Medicaid to lower-income childless adults as the ACA allows, the federal health law is popular with residents who annually have flocked to the marketplace for health coverage. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to repeal the ACA but has provided no details.

“Nearly 24 million people, a record number, have signed up for Marketplace coverage — and the Open Enrollment Period is not over yet. The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace and reforms have proven to be successful and critically important for millions of Americans and their families,” said Becerra.

This article originally appeared in the Florida Phoenix on January 8th,  2025

Please support the news you can use and visit The Brooks Blackboard's website for more news!   

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SEIU Joins AFL-CIO to 'Unleash a New Era of Worker Power' as Trump 2.0 Looms

By Jake Johnson

CEOs and billionaires want nothing more than to see workers divided, but we're standing here today with greater solidarity than ever," said AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler.

The 2-million-member-strong Service Employees International Union announced Wednesday that it is joining the AFL-CIO, bolstering the ranks of the largest labor federation in the United States as unions prepare to fight the incoming Trump administration.

"CEOs and billionaires want nothing more than to see workers divided, but we're standing here today with greater solidarity than ever to reach the 60 million Americans who say they'd join a union tomorrow if the laws allowed and to unrig our labor laws to guarantee every worker in America the basic right to organize on the job," AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement.