Tallahassee (AP) – The Florida Senate is unlikely to vote on Dr. John Armstrong’s confirmation as the state surgeon general, which would end his tenure today.
Senate President Andy Gardiner said March 9 that he will not bring a confirmation vote to the floor. Armstrong passed through the Health Policy Committee but never got a vote in the Ethics and Election Committee.
Gardiner said he struggled with the decision but is following his own policy of not going forward with a department head if he did not pass through committees. The 60-day legislative session wraps up March 11.
“I don’t have concerns about him, but I wasn’t on the committee. Clearly the votes are not there to pass his confirmation forward,” he said.
Armstrong, who has led the Department of Health since 2012, was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to serve a second term, but the Senate did not vote on the appointment last year.
During the legislative session, Armstrong and the department have been taken to task for issues including the implementation of medical marijuana, cutbacks to county health departments and the rise in HIV cases, particularly in South Florida.
Armstrong tried to address many of those issues during a meeting of the Senate’s Health Policy Committee on Feb. 16. The support, though, was narrow, as the committee voted 5-4.
Sen. Eleanor Sobel, who is the vice chairwoman of the Health Policy Committee and whose husband is a doctor, said Armstrong “is a good health official but not a public health official.”
Sen. Oscar Braynon, who has been among Armstrong’s more vocal critics, said Armstrong’s track record over the past 31/2 years is why he doesn’t have support.
“Don’t tell me what you are going to do; show me what you did, and that’s very obvious,” he said. “As far as administrating a public health system in the state of Florida, we have fallen very short, and he’s done it for 3 1/2 years. It’s time for someone else.”
Scott has tried to drum up support for Armstrong during the past three weeks, including endorsements from many in the state health community. They have failed to sway those doing the voting.
Jeri Bustamante, a spokeswoman for Scott, said that “we continue to believe Dr. Armstrong is the best person for the job.”
“We’ve confirmed over 100 people, most unanimous that were appointments by the governor. We don’t have an axe to grind,” Braynon said. “You’ve got to do a lot to get to this point.”
It would mark the first time since 1995 that an agency head has lost his job by not being confirmed. That year, the Republican-controlled Senate did not confirm an appointee of Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles.
However, it would be the first time since 1975 that a governor and Legislature of the same party are at odds over a confirmation. That year, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services Secretary Oliver Teller, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Reubin Askew, failed to be confirmed by the Senate.
Sen. Don Gaetz, who is an Armstrong supporter, said that Gardiner is doing the right thing. But Gaetz also has his reservations about not confirming someone.
“I may have problems with the way a particular department operates, but I don’t think I can say to the governor, `You can’t have your pick of an agency head.’ I should be able to consent and advise,” he said.
