Florida Democrats walked out of a Florida Senate Health Policy Committee hearing on Wednesday after state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo refused to answer their questions.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) appointed Ladapo to be the state's surgeon general, but since then, many questions have surfaced about his experience, his resume and his medical advice.
In the hearing before the state Senate Wednesday, Dr. Ladapo refused to answer questions about whether he supported vaccines. In fact, he was asked five times about vaccines in general, not exclusively about the COVID-19 vaccine.
"I know the members of our caucus are looking forward to having a serious conversation and have concerns about his ability to lead," said Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book.
An example is that Ladapo spoke to the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee without a "single slide or chart about COVID, where we are and what we're doing about it."
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Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Republican, has taken issue with Ladapo, the Tallahassee Democrat described. Simpson oversees the confirmation process and Ladapo refused to wear a mask at Sen. Tina Polsky's request. Polsky has cancer and is undergoing treatment, prompting Simpson to send out a memo on the incident.
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"It shouldn't take a cancer diagnosis for people to respect each other's level of comfort with social interactions during a pandemic," said Simpson.
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