Rick Scott lauds Daniel Perez at confirmation hearing, with implicit digs at Ron DeSantis
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott heaped praise on Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez at a Senate hearing.
“He’s served a consequential term as Speaker,” Scott said at the confirmation hearing for Perez, who was tapped by President Donald Trump for Ambassador to Brazil. “I have never seen a Florida House Speaker build deeper relationships with his members or do more to empower the people he leads. The unwavering loyalty of his House members is a testament to Speaker Perez’s integrity and character.”
That assessment of Perez contrasts sharply with his fractious relationship with Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Scott, a former Governor, noted Perez was among the last members of the Florida House elected while Scott still served as Governor. Scott also suggested his own tenure was a brighter period for conservative governance than under fellow Republican DeSantis.
“I’ve been most impressed with how Danny has changed the fiscal conversation in Tallahassee,” Scott said. “In the years since my time as Governor ended, the budget of the state of Florida has grown at an alarming rate. Danny was the first major leader in Tallahassee to say enough is enough and insists on fiscal discipline.”*
During Scott’s last year as Governor, he signed a final budget of $88.7 billion, vetoing $64 million in spending. Meanwhile, DeSantis this year vetoed $1.6 billion in spending but signed off on a final budget of $117.6 billion.
Perez at the confirmation hearing thanked Scott for his “very kind introduction” and years of friendship. Most of the hearing naturally focused on the Ambassador-designate’s priorities in Brazil. Of utmost concern, he said, were national security issues and the protection of some 1,000 Americans living and working in Brazil on behalf of the U.S.
He also wants to strengthen a recently tenuous diplomatic relationship with Brazil, which is now led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the left-wing Workers’ Party.
“We obviously have an election in Brazil that is upcoming here in the first week of October, and regardless of what that election shows, there’s an opportunity for us to bridge that gap. And I believe I have the right skill set to be able to do that, assuming I get the opportunity to serve,” Perez said.
He also wants to improve trade and increase U.S. exports to Brazil. U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Nebraska Republican, noted high tariffs imposed by Brazil on U.S. ethanol, and pressed Perez on how to help U.S. corn and ethanol producers.
“Since 2017, Brazil has sought to have preferential treatment for their ethanol exports into the United States, while at the same time limiting our ethanol exports to Brazil through tariff and non-tariff trade barriers,” Ricketts said. “The result is that our exports to Brazil of our ethanol has dropped from about 30% of our overall ethanol exports down to 1% or 2%. It’s completely unacceptable.”**
Trump this week directed the U.S. Trade Representative to impose a 25% tariff on certain Brazilian goods, concluding a yearlong investigation that cited Brazil’s restrictions on U.S. ethanol among its unfair trade practices. Ricketts wanted to know how Perez would handle the imbalanced market. Perez noted that before the recent announcement, Brazil’s 18% tariff on U.S. ethanol dramatically overshadowed U.S. levies.
“It’s not just in ethanol. I think there’s a gap across energy, across infrastructure, when it comes to the Brazilian-United States relationship. Part of that, in my opinion, has to do with exposure,” Perez said. “If confirmed, if I’m able to make it down to Brazil and get boots on the ground, the relationships between the private sector (it’s not just the government, it’s the private sector inside the United States and the Brazilian government, the Brazilian private sector, the citizens of Brazil) can be amplified, and that is one of my goals.”