Congress

In what was a major victory for Florida tomato growers, the U.S. Commerce Department announced in April that it would withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement, beginning July 14. A 20.91% tariff will then be imposed on most tomatoes from Mexico.

“Our state is already projecting significant ongoing budget challenges and everyday Floridians are facing mounting challenges, just to make ends meet,” FPI CEO Sadaf Knight said in a statement. “This moment calls for making investments in public services, raising additional revenue and in expanding economic security — by choosing not to do so, the Legislature is putting their head in the sand.”

Boca Helping Hands, which serves 35,000 people a year with food, job training and financial assistance, was already feeling the pressure from earlier federal budget cuts and a significant drop in food donations.

Longtime U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson introduced a bill in Congress this week to help stabilize the troubled property insurance market and help homeowners nationwide, especially in Florida, with a growing and costly pocketbook issue.

Students and families could see significant changes to how student loans are repaid as well as cuts to federal student aid as congressional Republicans look to slash billions of dollars in federal spending to offset the cost of President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda.

Former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey, who didn’t make it past a Democratic primary in 2024, is looking at making another run for Congress, motivated by a desire to reverse some of President Donald Trump’s assaults on the rule of law.

The legislation, known as the Take It Down Act, aims to crack down on the sharing of material known as “revenge porn,” requiring that social media companies and online platforms remove such images within two days of being notified of them.

Democratic candidates are trying to accomplish the improbable by flipping a pair of Trump-friendly congressional seats and carving into Republicans’ narrow 218 to 213 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Republican senator's bill was announced the same day the Trump administration axed $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University. The Ivy League school in New York City was at the forefront of U.S. campus protests over the war last spring.

On Jan. 3, the new Congress — the 119th — officially began its duties. Once Donald Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Republicans will have unified control of government. But particularly in the House, the margin will be close.

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Miami, is urging her colleagues in the House to pass the “Take It Down Act,” a proposed bill she is championing with bipartisan support that would protect victims of real and deepfake “revenge porn.”

Trump’s campaign promises included adding a 10% to 20% tariff on all nondomestic goods sold in America, a 60% tariff on goods from China and reciprocal tariffs on nations that impose tariffs on the U.S. Then, on Nov. 25, Trump promised new 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada.