Hello and welcome to Wednesday.

Out in the open — So, after several days of silence, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged that indeed it was state taxpayers that footed the bill to ship South American migrants who crossed the border in Texas to Sacramento.

Pushing back — The administration released a video that showed migrants signing consent forms, smiling and waving. State officials rebuffed California’s assertion that the flights to California constituted illegal activity.

From the administration — Alecia Collins with Florida’s Division of Emergency Management said that “through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California.” Collins added that “the relocation of those illegally crossing the United States border is not new. But suddenly, when Florida sends illegal aliens to a sanctuary city, it’s false imprisonment and kidnapping.”

Unpersuaded — This acknowledgement did little to assuage California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who told our POLITICO colleagues that “all this does is reinforce the cruelty of this act and the manipulative nature of the act and the stunt that this is — the shameful nature of it … We are, we are very serious about pursuing action, if the facts dictate it. And Mr. DeSantis should know that.”

In addition — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in an interview with CNN, also pushed back by saying that he talked directly to some of the migrants who arrived and they told him they didn’t know where they were. He also said that they had been promised help with jobs and were “abandoned” outside a Catholic church.

Still quiet — What remains interesting is that DeSantis himself, who had a press conference in The Villages, has yet to publicly discuss the migrant flights. The whole situation gives the appearance again that Florida officials were initially unaware of what was happening. After all, the publicity of the flights is the point and to send a message on immigration to Democrats and to … GOP voters in a presidential campaign.

— WHERE’S RON? — Gov. DeSantis is scheduled to be in Texas for fundraisers connected to his presidential campaign.

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‘THAT’S VERY SERIOUS’ — “Florida officials could still face charges over migrant flights, Gavin Newsom says,” by POLITICO’s Christopher Cadelago: Florida’s admission that it sent two chartered flights of migrants to California doesn’t mean those involved with the operation won’t face charges, Gov. Gavin Newsom told POLITICO on Tuesday. In an interview, Newsom dismissed the state of Florida’s description of the transport as part of a voluntary relocation aimed at calling attention to the large numbers of migrants seeking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Newsom said it appears at least some of the migrants were misled and flown to his state under false pretenses.

FLORIDA OPERATION — “Florida confirms it sent migrants to California, by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury and Jeremy B. White: As California’s leaders continue to claim that the actions could amount to kidnapping or false imprisonment, Florida countered those allegations by posting a video of some of the migrants signing documents, smiling on a plane and waving their hands while riding inside what looks like a limousine or party bus.

‘EXPANSIVE READING’ — “Kidnapping charges for DeSantis? Newsom’s threats over migrant flights are a ploy, experts say,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Maggie Angst: “Threats from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta to prosecute Florida Gov. Ron Desantis for kidnapping after his administration sent flights of Latin American migrants to Sacramento are political posturing, not the basis for a criminal case, legal experts said Tuesday. ‘There’s an irony to the fact that these criminal justice progressives, who got elected on a criminal justice reform agenda, are now trying to use criminal law in pretty expansive and creative ways to forward their political agenda,’ said Andrea Roth, a professor at UC Berkeley School of Law. ‘And this feels like a very expansive reading of criminal law.’

MEANWHILE — “Republican legislators who backed DeSantis immigration bill appear to downplay its potential impact,” by NBC News’ Nicole Acevedo: “Florida legislators who voted for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stringent immigration law are trying to reassure immigrant residents in the Miami-Dade County area that they shouldn’t fear the new law. Republican state Reps. Rick Roth, Alina Garcia and Juan Fernandez-Barquin were invited to speak at a meeting Monday organized by the Hispanic Ministers Association of South Florida to discuss the law in Hialeah, the city with the country’s second-highest percentage of Latino residents.”

THE RECORD — “How Ron DeSantis found a home in Florida’s swamp,” by NBC News’ Matt Dixon and Jonathan Allen: “Ron DeSantis promised to drain the swamp in Tallahassee. Instead, over more than four years as governor, he has reconfigured the swamp to suit his political needs and shielded it from Florida’s famous sunshine. In anticipation of his 2024 presidential bid, he pushed the Legislature to change Florida’s resign-to-run law. He revised state policy so he could transfer $80 million in campaign cash to a federal political committee. And just after his official announcement last month, his administration pressured state legislators and lobbyists to aid his presidential campaign while they awaited his decisions on pet projects in the budget.”

— “DeSantis fundraiser is hosted by lobbyist for Moderna, company that makes puberty blockers, and a sanctioned Chinese firm: Florida governor is accused of hypocrisy for $1,000-a-place DC event,” by DailyMail.com’s Rob Crilly

FRIENDS — “Ron DeSantis is drawing from the Trump Supreme Court playbook,” by CNN’s Joan Biskupic: “Later that night, DeSantis and [Clarence] Thomas retreated to a private dinner at a steakhouse also at Disney with a few Federalist Society stalwarts, including Leonard Leo, a wealthy conservative activist who has influenced Supreme Court appointments more than anyone outside the White House and Senate. Thomas and Leo had been friends for decades, and Leo had known DeSantis since the governor was at Harvard Law School in the early 2000s. After his 2018 gubernatorial election in Florida, Leo began advising him on state judicial appointments, just as he did for President Donald Trump’s US Supreme Court nominees. The private dinner helped seal the relationship between DeSantis and Thomas. ‘That encounter deepened their knowledge of each other and the governor’s respect for the justice,’ Leo told CNN.

— “The problem with DeSantis’s run-to-the-right strategy,” by The Washington Post’s Philip Bump

— “Poll: Ron DeSantis faces 29-point deficit against Donald Trump among California Republicans,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski

PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION — Federal judge rips into Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care for kids, by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout: A federal judge delivered a stinging rebuke to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature over rules and a new state law that banned minors from receiving “puberty blockers” and other types of gender-affirming care. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle on Tuesday blocked the state from applying the ban to three minors whose parents are part of an ongoing lawsuit, saying they would “suffer irreparable harm” if they were not allowed to continue access to hormones and other types of treatment.

From the ruling — “Nothing could have motivated this remarkable intrusion into parental prerogatives other than opposition to transgender status itself,” wrote Hinkle, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton. Hinkle also added that “the statute and the rules were an exercise in politics, not good medicine.”

Response — Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for DeSantis, noted the injunction “is extremely limited in scope” since it only applies to three children and that the law is still in effect. Redfern also pointed out DeSantis’ past criticism of the treatments as “irreversible” and “not based on science.” “We obviously disagree with the judge’s ruling,” Redfern said in an email. “We will continue fighting against the rogue elements in the medical establishment that push ideology over evidence and protect against mutilating our kids.”

INKED — DeSantis signs online privacy, kids safety law, by POLITICO’s Rebecca Kern: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an online privacy and kids safety law that would ban companies from collecting Floridians’ sensitive personal information without their consent, as well as improve kids online safety protections. Florida joins nearly 10 other states that have passed privacy bills in recent years and follows California’s lead in protecting kids’ safety online and restricts the collection, sale or sharing of data from minors.

— “Law gives DeSantis more power over Space Florida as CEO retires,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Richard Tribou

AS THE PAGES TURN — “Witness to face Miami grand jury in Trump classified-documents probe,” by The Washington Post’s Spencer S. Hsu and Devlin Barrett: “A witness is expected to appear Wednesday before a federal grand jury in Miami as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into whether former president Donald Trump mishandled classified documents or obstructed government efforts to retrieve them after leaving office, according to a person familiar with the investigation. At least one other witness appeared before the same grand jury last month, as well, said two people familiar with the situation, who like others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door grand jury proceedings.”

— “Mark Meadows testified to grand jury in special counsel investigation of Trump,” by New York Times’ Jonathan Swan, Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman

— “A big GOP split on the debt ceiling: Pre-Trump vs. post-Trump,” by The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake and Dan Keating

EXCUSE ME — “Rubio: Anyone in the media saying Christie ended my campaign is ‘lazy or dumb,’” by The Hill’s Caroline Vakil: “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Tuesday said anyone in the media claiming that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) snuffed out his 2016 presidential campaign is ‘lazy or dumb’ amid Christie’s 2024 presidential town hall. ‘Any political reporter/commentator claiming Christie ‘ended’ my campaign in 2016 is lazy or dumb,’ Rubio tweeted. ‘NH debate sucked because instead of hitting back when attacked like I wanted to, I listened to advice about ‘pivoting’ & not ‘punching down’ on a [Chris Christie] who was at 7% & about to drop out. But it didn’t end my campaign.’”

HOUSE OF CARDS — “Hard right grinds House to a halt, rebuking McCarthy for the debt deal,” by The New York Times’ Karoun Demirjian, Annie Karni and Kate Kelly: “It indicated that, even as right-wing lawmakers suggest they are not yet inclined to try to oust [Speaker Kevin] McCarthy from his post over the compromise, they plan to use their clout in the closely divided House to make the speaker’s job impossible unless he bows to their will. ‘We’re concerned that the fundamental commitments that allowed Kevin McCarthy to assume the speakership have been violated as a consequence of the debt limit deal, and the answer for us is to reassert House conservatives as the appropriate coalition partner for our leadership, instead of them making common cause with Democrats,’ Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida told reporters.”

— “Waltz blasts renaming of Fort Bragg, other military bases,” by The Floridian’s Jim McCool

‘SIMPLY A KILLING’ — “White woman who fatally shot Black neighbor is arrested in Florida,” by Associated Press’ Curt Anderson and Freida Frisaro: “A Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbor last week in the violent culmination of what the sheriff described as a 2½-year feud was arrested Tuesday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, who is white, was arrested on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault in the death of Ajike Owens, a Black mother of four, Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. Authorities came under pressure Tuesday to arrest and charge the white woman who fired through [her front door] and killed a Black neighbor in a case that has put Florida’s divisive stand your ground law back into the spotlight. Woods said that this was not a stand your ground case but ‘simply a killing.’”

JUDICIAL SKEPTICISM — “Florida notches another legal win over Biden on immigration,” by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury: A federal appeals court this week ruled that the Biden administration still cannot implement certain immigration policies at the southern border, saying the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t gone far enough to prove they are warranted. The Monday decision from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta marks another policy win for Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is spearheading the lawsuit through state Attorney General Ashley Moody as a protest to President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration.

WATCH THIS SPACE — “Federal judge pushes back on claim state law doesn’t target drag shows,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Austin Fuller: A federal judge pushed back on attorneys for the state of Florida during a hearing Tuesday about their claim a new law does not specifically target drag performers. U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell did not immediately issue a ruling during Tuesday’s hearing in the case brought by the Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Orlando but said he would as soon as possible. The hearing was originally scheduled about Hamburger Mary’s motion to temporarily block the law.”

— “Seven of nine Hollywood Broadwalk shooting victims were innocent bystanders, warrant says,” by South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Angie DiMichele

— “At Miami City Hall, protesters want Carollo thrown out of office, voluntarily or otherwise,” by Miami Herald’s Charles Rabin

— “The largest human-made lagoon in the country just opened in Pasco County,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Rebecca Liebson

— “Lake Worth High teacher recommended for firing after ‘racially charged’ classroom incident,” by Palm Beach Post’s Holly Baltz

— “‘We’ll never be done’: The growing challenge to remove thousands of car tires from ocean floor,” by South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Lisa J. Huriash

— “Florida ranked in top 10 for dog bites, USPS says,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Garfield Hylton: “The United States Postal Service ranked Florida in the top 10 for dog bites. As part of National Dog Bite Awareness Week, USPS is shedding light on dogs attacking postal workers. Last year, dogs assaulted more than 5,300 mail-delivering postal employees, according to a USPS press release. Florida ranked seventh with 220 attacks. Miami and Jacksonville combined for 37 dog bites, with Miami having 21 attacks to Jacksonville’s 16.”

BIRTHDAYS: State Sen. Jason Brodeur … former state Rep. Buzz Ritchie ... Myra Adams, political and religious writer