The Trump Administration Will Not Allow Drilling Off the Florida Coast

"I support the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver", said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, per The Hill.

Zinke highlighted Scott's role in the deal.

And in a video interview for "Anderson Cooper 360", the OR governor expressed incredulity over Zinke's claims that Florida's coastline was unique for its dependence on tourism. Other Republicans in the Sunshine State stood in opposition to the administration's plan.

The real question now is will states who want no part of the offshore oil drilling deal sue to get what Florida got. We chose to measure whether Scott had shifted his position on our Flip-O-Meter.

Democrats and environmentalists have accused Zinke of making a purely political calculation in order to bolster Scott, who may run for a US Senate seat now held by Bill Nelson, a Democrat.

But Florida's Democratic Senator Bill Nelson smelled a rat.

Scott's spokespersons argued that Scott made no flip.

Other states have begun asking for exemptions from the offshore drilling plan as a result of Tuesday's announcement, but no further announcements have been made.

The administration's decision on Tuesday removes from consideration a portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, an area that oil drillers have said they are interested in exploring - but not all of it. Today, he opposes an expansion.

"The Florida coastline that borders my district is all military testing and training ranges, where they have live fire exercises at super sonic speeds which is a critically risky place to be putting oil rigs", Dunn said. The state is also exploring legal options to prevent offshore drilling. If that's your standard, we, too, should be removed from your list. In 2016, 47% opposed off-shore drilling compared with 32% who supported it.

During that summer, Scott reiterated his call for safe offshore drilling when meeting with Panhandle fishermen. "This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott". "It doesn't make any sense".

In Glickman's opinion, Gov. Scott has neglected to show genuine care for the environment. We rated his promise broken in 2013. "We can't do drilling until we do it safely", Scott told CNN in 2010. Scott was initially mum.

Scott could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning. However, the proposal has been derided by about a dozen coastal state leaders, who have cited tourism and ecosystem concerns. "While the decision to remove Florida from offshore drilling is a good one, the Trump administration should drop its risky and foolhardy plan to drill around the U.S".

Early on Wednesday, Newsom punched out a couple of tweets directed at Zinke that appeared to highlight that the Interior Secretary is a flaming partisan hypocrite hell-bent on fulfilling the Trump mandate to punish blue states, regardless of the appearance of flaming partisan hypocrisy.

Oil and gas exploration doesn't seem to be entirely off the table, though. In a press release last week, he said oil and gas drilling would have vast financial benefits, providing "billions of dollars to fund the conservation of our coastlines, public lands and parks".

Florida Republicans and Democrats - including Nelson - criticized the possibility that Florida's waters could be opened to drilling. The initial rules followed the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

During his first term, Scott took no meaningful steps to expand drilling.