Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong could be out of a job this week. According to the Tampa Bay Times, when then legislature adjourns this Friday, Armstrong will become the first agency head to not be confirmed since 1995. Armstrong narrowly survived his first confirmation hearing in the Senate on a 5-4 vote. But the Senate’s ethics and elections committee twice postponed its review, stopping Armstrong from advancing to the chamber floor. As recently as Tuesday, Senate President Andy Gardiner had kept the possibility of a floor vote on the table, but Wednesday evening he said that's no longer an option.
“I think for me, a lot of it is that I stood here in front of ya’ll and said I wouldn’t pull a secretary out of committee without a vote. And that didn’t happen," Gardiner said.
Lawmakers, especially Democrats, have expressed concerns about the Surgeon General’s leadership. Under Armstrong’s watch, thousands of sick and disabled kids were dropped from a state-run health insurance program. HIV rates in South Florida have spiked, and hundreds of county Department of Health workers have been laid off through state budget cuts.
