Four months after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed his new controversial surgeon general, the Florida Senate will finally get to question Dr. Joseph Ladapo about his qualifications for handling a pandemic and running the state’s public health agency.
Expect a “vigorous, even fiery debate” when Ladapo appears Wednesday morning before the Senate Health Policy Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book of Plantation said in a phone interview Tuesday.
She and her colleagues plan to question him about his lack of experience dealing with pandemics and other public health crises, his controversial views that go against the mainstream medical community, and his lack of administrative experience.
Recent coverage from the USA TODAY Network-Florida:
- DeSantis, Ladapo condemn feds’ decision to stop sending COVID-19 antibody treatments
- No classes yet assigned for Surgeon General Ladapo at UF College of Medicine
- Florida Department of Health rejects complaint against Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo
- COVID in Florida: Decoding the data behind state surgeon general's policies
- A 'trifecta' of 'lunacy': Why Florida's COVID response favors treatment, not prevention
“I know the members of our caucus are looking forward to having a serious conversation and have concerns about his ability to lead,” Book said.
For example, when Ladapo appeared before the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee earlier this month, Book said, he didn’t have a “single slide or chart about COVID, where we are and what we’re doing about it.”
So far, the only Republican to break ranks and criticize Ladapo has been Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, who oversees the confirmation process by assigning which committees get to question Ladapo about his qualifications.
In a memo to senators, Simpson said Ladapo’s refusal to honor state Sen. Tina Polsky’s request to wear a mask when he came to meet with her in her Tallahassee office was unprofessional. Polsky is undergoing cancer treatments.
Read more:
- Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo asked to leave meeting after refusing to wear mask
- Florida Surgeon General Ladapo says he can't 'communicate effectively' in his refusal to wear mask in Polsky's office
“It shouldn’t take a cancer diagnosis for people to respect each other’s level of comfort with social interactions during a pandemic,” said Simpson, who did not mention Ladapo by name in the memo.
The governor’s office has repeatedly pointed to Ladapo’s pedigree with his medical degree and Ph.D. from Harvard University and his several years as a clinical researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles studying obesity and cardiac disease. A request for comment was pending Tuesday afternoon.
The only statutory requirement for surgeon general, a position created in 2007 by then-GOP Gov. Charlie Crist, is that the person beaphysician licensed under state law with “advanced training or extensive experience in public health administration.”
A lightning rod surgeon general
Sincesince the day he was appointed, Ladapo’s actions and statements dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic — while they fall in line with the views of DeSantis — have raised concerns among Democrats and those in the mainstream medical community.
Also, his fast-track hire at the University of Florida has raised questions about political pressure from DeSantis megadonor and UF Board of Trustees Chairman Mori Hosseinitoget Ladapo a job with an income that would supplement his salary with the Department of Health.
Fast tracked:Florida Surgeon General Ladapo was rushed into UF College of Medicine job, emails show
More:DeSantis mega-donor, UF Board of Trustees chair supplied Ladapo's resume, fast-tracking surgeon general's hire
Ladapo’s controversial views on vaccinations and masking were well documented, including his appearance with America’s Frontline Doctors on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court urging the use of hydroxychloroquine, which has proven ineffective against COVID-19.
Democrats objected when, on his second day on the job, Ladapo issued an emergency order stripping school districts of the authority to quarantine students exposed to COVID-19, letting the parents instead decide whether to send their kids to school.
More recently, the Department of Health overseen by Ladapo placed an Orange County health official on administrative leave for sending an email out questioning why so few of his own staff were vaccinated.
“I want to hear his thought process on that,” Book said.
She also plans to ask if he regrets his treatment back in November of Polsky, D-Boca Raton, “and his whole off-hand comment made for refusing to wear a mask.”He refused her request to wear a mask to enter her office, even after she said she was dealing with a serious medical issue that was later revealed to be cancer treatments.
Ladapo said he tried to accommodate her by meeting outside and said he couldn’t express himself properly while wearing a mask over his mouth.
The confirmation hearing scheduled on Wednesday morning before the Senate Health Policy Committee is the first of two stops before his nomination comes to a full Senate floor vote. Despite their opposition, those inside the legislative process expect theRepublican-controlled Senate to ultimately confirm Ladapo’s nomination along party lines.
“Dr. Ladapo has proven time and time again that data and science are not top of mind when making decisions about the health and wellness of Floridians,” said Sen.Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, who also sits on the Health Policy Committee.“At a time with so much misinformation flying, it's important to have Florida’s top doc grounded in facts and not extreme political rhetoric."
She said she is convinced his confirmation will be approved along party lines, in which case she hopes he will revisit his medical training“and use constructive common sense above destructive divisive decision making as he leads Floridians everywhere through this pandemic.”
‘Where are his bona fides?’
House Minority Leader Evan Jenne of Dania Beach said he’d like to see his Senate colleagues focus on the particulars of Ladapo’s resume.
“What I would like to see personally, and a lot of colleagues would want to see, is the fleshing out of his actual expertise dealing with medical emergencies like we’re going through,” Jenne said during a press briefing Monday. “As I read through his CV, there is a lot of great work, but … it has nothing to do with the pandemic. Where are his bona fides with that?”
Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said she would like her Senate colleagues to probe into Ladapo’s ideas and theories with respect to COVID-19, “to compare and contrast those to what the prevailing thoughts are in the science and medical community.”
She said it would be interesting to see what information the governor’s office sends over to the Senate, if anything.
The meeting packet for Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate Health Policy Committee doesn’t contain Ladapo’s resume or medical license application, or any other documents regarding his background.
It does containa handful of documents related to Ladapo’s appointment: Anotice from DeSantis to Secretary of State Laurel Lee dated Sept. 21 that he’s appointed Ladapo as Surgeon General, Ladapo’s signed oath of office dated Nov. 17, 2021, a notice of certification from the Secretary of State acknowledging Ladapo’s appointment, and a hearing notice of the Senate Health Policy Committee dated Jan. 20 and signed by the committee chair, Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah Gardens.
But the Senate President's Office saidLadapo’s professional licenses were investigated and confirmed through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement background check requested by the Senate.
Also, as part of the confirmation process, the Senate orders a separate background check on all appointees.
And Ladapo completed the Senate’s Confirmation Questionnaire, which includes the type of information listed on a resume orcurriculumvitae.Senators also had a chance to discuss Dr. Ladapo’s qualifications and background during individual meetings over the last several weeks.
'Grave concerns':Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's medical license OK'd in two days
Two chances to get Ladapo confirmed
Even if Democrats can muster enough Republicans to reject Ladapo’s appointment, Florida law and Senate rules give the governor two cracks at getting him confirmed, allowing him to be confirmed in a second consecutive legislative session.
That would allow Ladapo to remain as surgeon general through 2023.
Unlike his predecessor, Scott Rivkees, Ladapo has only had a few months on the job before he underwent the crucible of Senate hearings to confirm him.
Rivkees was appointed by DeSantis during the waning days of the 2019 session. At the time, then-Senate President Bill Galvano decided there was not enough time to properly vet the UF pediatrician after allegations were raised about a sexual harassment investigation and an audit of his finances were disclosed.
Despite those concerns, Rivkees stayed on the job without confirmation for nearly a year until the Senate was able to vet him.
By the time the Senate confirmed Rivkees by a 31-9 vote on March 13, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had hit Florida and Rivkees had been on the job for a year.
“At least there was some glimmer of hope when he spoke about the need to wear masks, but Ladapo is spewing nonsense,” Book said.“Ladapo has turned his position into a pulpit to spew misinformation about the pandemic.
“This is someone we should be able to rely upon to make sound decisions about the health, safety and well being of Floridians everywhere,” she added.
Ladapowas hired at the same time as his appointment to a research professor post at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Hiscontract with the state runs until September 2023, with the option of a three-year extension. His combined salary is $437,000 a year. The longest he can serve as surgeon general is two years, with a three-month extension.
What the confirmation hearings will hopefully show is that this was a political pick, Jenne said:“The Surgeon General in Florida decision is being based purely on politics and has nothing to do with actual science and medical science.”
Jeffrey Schweers is a capital bureau reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida. Contact Schweers at jschweers@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.
Subscribe today using the link at the top of the page and never miss a story.
