Senate Don Gaetz (R-Crestview) called to say that Dr. Joel Rudman will not appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections to seek approval of his appointment to the Pensacola State College Board of Trustees. He said he would be out of the country.
- Sen. Gaetz, who chairs the Ethics & Elections committee, had already asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to attend the hearing because Rudman had claimed that he would present evidence of criminal wrongdoing by House Republicans. If Rudman had any evidence, the chairman wanted it immediately handed over to FDLE.
BACKGROUND: At Governor Ron DeSantis’ media event at PSC on April 15, Rudman explained that he resigned from the Florida House to run for Congress because during a November 19 legislative orientation session, House leadership explicitly told Republican members they would no longer follow Governor DeSantis’s lead, allegedly using vulgar language to emphasize the point.
- “As the second most conservative member of the Florida House, I couldn’t go along with this agenda,” Rudman said, calling the current chamber a “runaway house” that is “running away from conservative ideals.”
RUDMAN’S THREATS
Last week, the Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee unanimously voted down appointing former Rep. Joel Rudman to the Pensacola State College Board of Trustees.
- Florida Politics reported that the senators objected to Rudman’s comments on a recent X Spaces chat. They said his apparent threats to expose or embarrass lawmakers if he wasn’t confirmed would not be tolerated.
At an X Spaces event hosted by the DeSantis Appreciation Society, Rudman stated that the entire Florida Legislature needed to be drug tested. Floridian Press has the audio.
“I did want to let you guys know, and again this one I’m going to keep a little close to the vest ladies and gentlemen because like I said I do have a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate this Tuesday, so some of these cards I have to keep on me,” said Rudman.
He alleged that he had been “told by lobbyists” that “a whole hell of a lot more than marijuana” would have been found if he had filed a bill he contemplated filing that would mandate random drug testing of legislators. “I won’t name any names. I know where the bodies are buried, but if they come after me in this confirmation hearing on Tuesday maybe we can do another space and I can give you some names. let’s see how they behave on Tuesday.”
- Sen. Gaetz wanted to give Rudman a public forum to present his evidence.
NEXT STEP
Rudman’s appointment to the PSC Board of Trustees will still be discussed, and a motion to reject him will likely be made. Gov. DeSantis can appoint him again after the session ends, and Rudman can serve for another year until the Florida Senate convenes in 2026.