On November 19, 2024, hours after he had been sworn in for his second term, former State Rep. Joel Rudman knew it was time to leave the Florida House. Rudman knew the fix was in after attending what he referred to as a closed-door “brainwashing” session conducted by Republican Florida House representatives Speaker Danny Perez, Wyman Duggan, Tyler Sirois, Lawrence McClure, Josie Tomkow, Chuck Brannan, Will Robinson, James Buchanan, and 2026 Speaker Sam Garrison and 2028 Speaker Jennifer Canady. The members mentioned, with the exceptions of Garrison and Canady, are senior members who are part of Speaker Perez’s hand-picked leadership team, whose main job is to implement the Speaker’s agenda and carry out his orders. Rudman was told that the legislature was “going after” Governor Ron DeSantis and that the 2025 session wouldn’t be about working with the man who made the free state of Florida what it is today. Instead, this session was a coup to undo everything DeSantis has done since he’s been in office.
Florida Jolt interviewed Rudman for this eye-opening story.
According to Rudman, some classes were a bit off-putting, and some were funny. But one class titled “Who We Are and Who We Are Not,” is the one that was downright shocking. Members were told that the representatives worked for the House and they weren’t the Governor’s “bitch.” It didn’t end there, but perhaps the most shocking part that he quickly saw was that the representatives didn’t fight back; they all went for it.
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Rudman’s experience at this orientation for new lawmakers—proved pivotal. According to Rudman, House leadership made it clear that the chamber would not be “the Governor’s bitch,” signaling a break from DeSantis’s influence. Leadership also emphasized that representatives were not “mini-Congressmen” and prohibited the formation of internal caucuses, such as a Freedom Caucus modeled after the one in Congress.
To all the rank-and-file Republican members looking the other way, and even a warning to the two new Republican converts (referring to two former Democrat party hoppers), if a few power-hungry members are so brazen as to pull a Julius Caesar on America’s favorite governor, what makes you think they will even blink an eye about doing it to you?
~Dr. Joel Rudman, former State Representative
Leadership also warned members not to use their House platform as a springboard to higher office, which Rudman found ironic given the chamber’s history of producing prominent politicians.
Leadership also said they were over the Senate, too. They were done going through Senate staffers, and they were sick of doing their bidding and being treated “like a bunch of butlers.” They felt that the representatives were a co-equal branch of government, equal to the Senate and the Governor.
Dr. Joel Rudman, a physician from Navarre, Florida, served as the Republican state representative for Florida’s 3rd District from 2022 to 2025. Rudman, a board-certified family physician and owner of Holley Navarre Medical Clinic entered politics after witnessing the intersection of medicine and government during the COVID-19 pandemic. He quickly became known for defending physicians’ free speech and his willingness to challenge government overreach. A commitment to individual liberties and a deep loyalty to Governor Ron DeSantis marked Rudman’s legislative career.
Rudman was taken aback by the anti-DeSantis sentiment. He described the atmosphere as “itching for a fight” with the Governor, especially after House Speaker Danny Perez quickly shut down a special session on immigration called by DeSantis. Rudman felt the session’s tone made it evident that resistance to DeSantis’s agenda would define the upcoming legislative term. But, as mentioned in an article from Florida Politics on January 30, 2025, Rudman said, “This was an argument waiting for an excuse. If not for immigration, they would have fought over new hours for the cafeteria.”
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To Rudman, the hostility seemed startling. He considered himself a DeSantis loyalist, the ‘most popular Republican Governor in America.'” Rudman’s legislative record and rhetoric consistently reflected conservative values—defending gun rights, opposing government mandates, and supporting medical freedom. His frustration with the House’s new direction and apparent break from DeSantis’s leadership contributed to his decision to run for Congress, though he ultimately lost in the Republican primary.
Rudman had been ready to hit the ground running for his sophomore term as a representative. The anti-DeSantis atmosphere he quickly discovered shocked him. He credited DeSantis’s policies with protecting his medical career during the pandemic. The leadership’s stance made Rudman feel unwelcome and contributed to his decision to leave the House and run for Congress.
Rudman is not the only one who noticed what happened. State Representative Mike Caruso (R-West Palm Beach) was also part of this orientation. Each group was separated by class. Rudman was with the sophomores, and Caruso was with the seniors. Presumably, each group was exposed to similar information but not identical. Caruso remembers a softer example of these classes but with similar messaging.
Full Disclosure: Florida Jolt’s Editor at Large, Tracy Caruso, is married to State Representative Mike Caruso.
Caruso does not doubt that these classes were set up to “put everyone in their place” and make it painfully apparent that the members have no say and no power, even though one of Speaker Perez’s first lines during this “class,” which has been repeated constantly during this session, is that this is a “member-driven process,” a sentiment that isn’t true.
The speaker, his chief of staff, and leadership have railroaded the House majority into taking on liberal policy and quashing any member bills that true Republicans have been screaming for. Regardless of the price, rank-and-file members need to step up and do what’s right for Floridians. It’s time to stand up for the constituents who put us in office, and the principles of our party.
~Representative Mike Caruso
Rudman has this message for his former colleagues.
I want to tell my colleagues and friends I’m happy and have never slept better. Remember, there is a whole wide world out there that is way more valuable than selling your soul for political gain. My critiques aren’t personal; as your friend, I will tell you when you’re doing wrong. You used to say I was genuine, honest, a real mensch. It’s not too late for you to be that way too.
~Dr. Joel Rudman, former State Representative
As the 2025 session unfolds, the battle between the House and America’s favorite Governor, Ron DeSantis, is ongoing. It is rooted in a House leadership determined to assert independence from the Governor, resistance to internal conservative organizing, legislative pushback on his bills, and the complex dynamics of party politics and personal ambition. Rudman finds it incredible that although some good members of the House genuinely care about the process, Rep. Caruso has been the only one to stand with the Governor, which is the right, moral, and conservative thing to do. He says that after speaking to various members, he feels this goes beyond the fear of not getting bills passed or losing appropriations requests or positions of power. He’s been up to Tallahassee and seen members rolling their eyes. He believes that these people have been brainwashed, and even though some of them see that what’s going on now is wrong, they’re too scared to do anything. He says,
It’s like Stockholm syndrome ~Dr. Joel Rudman, former State Representative
The Republican supermajority is squashing conservative bills such as open carry. Democrat voices are being elevated to push bills that benefit trial attorneys. Prior legislation that has made Florida the place we all want to live is being undone. The supermajority is being used to override past vetos from the Governor. The big question is, when this session is over, personality-based vendettas are over, and the power struggle is over, who will win, and will Florida be better for it?
Other stories you may want to read:
- DeSantis’ Warns Florida House Budget Would Defund the Police - April 23, 2025
- Dem. Rep. Skidmore Takes Florida House to Task for Not Being Conservative Enough - April 22, 2025
- Ex-Florida Lawmaker Blows Lid Off RINO Scheme to Sabotage DeSantis - April 14, 2025