TALLAHASSEE — Rick Scott left the governor’s mansion in 2019 for the U.S. Senate and seven years later, he’s not happy with the state’s economic numbers, nor the recent decisions at its flagship university.
Scott has slammed the state’s economic and jobs numbers, an issue he was focused on during his time in the governor’s mansion from 2011-2019, as Florida tried to recover from the Great Recession.
“Florida’s unemployment rate is ABOVE the national average and it’s only GROWING,” Scott posted on X last month when the March jobless rate was at 4.6 percent. “The latest state jobs numbers show we lost over 43k jobs all in critical industries. Florida had one of the worst performing job markets over the past year. Our state needs to stay focused on adding private sector jobs and driving down cost of living — just like President Trump is trying to do across the country.”
On Friday, the report for April job numbers was released showing Florida’s unemployment rate increased to 4.8 percent.
And this week Scott went on to criticize several decisions at the University of Florida, which is in the middle of a search for a permanent president, in a letter to State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues.
UF’s Board of Trustees last week named Dr. Stuart Bell, former President of the University of Alabama, as the sole finalist to take the helm at the Gainesville school. Dr. Donald Landry has been serving in the role on an interim basis since September, but would reportedly be owed $2 million if he isn’t chosen to be the permanent president.
Scott was aghast at the piece of the contract and called for an investigation.
“It is my understanding that the UF board did not vote on (Landry’s contract), nor did the (Board of Governors),” Scott wrote.
He also stated it appeared the board delegated its authority to draw up the contract to Chairman Mori Hosseini.
“I don’t understand how that process is in the best interests of the university, its students and taxpayers. It begs the question as to why UF even bothers to have a governing board.”
That was far from the only critique Scott leveled at UF. He said he wasn’t supporting Bell or Landry but took aim at the secretive process that resulted in a single final candidate.
“No one really knows anything about either of these people, or any other potential candidate, because there was no public search or vetting process,” Scott wrote.
The University of Florida was copied this week on a letter that included allegations related to its presidential search process, including the false assertion that UF violated state law to avoid public transparency in selecting a presidential search finalist.
— FLORIDA (@UF) May 22, 2026
That allegation… https://t.co/Kjd83v9EEr
Lawmakers in 2022 passed a bill allowing university and college boards to keep the identities of candidates for leadership positions hidden from the public until a slate of finalists was chosen. But the measure doesn’t prevent search committees from submitting a single name as a finalist, essentially moving the entire search process behind closed doors.
Bell has also received criticism from social conservatives for his support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Alabama. The same concerns sunk the candidacy of Santa Ono, the former University of Michigan president, for the UF top job, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has voiced his support for Bell.
“Dr. Bell did much to elevate the University of Alabama when he was the president in Tuscaloosa and I have no doubt that he will help UF reach new heights during his tenure in Gainesville,” DeSantis posted on X on Monday. “He is a great selection and has my full support!”
Moreover, DeSantis isn’t backing away from his support for Bell.
“Governor DeSantis believes Dr. Bell is an excellent choice and has given him his full support. That will not change just because Sen. Rick Scott disagrees,” DeSantis spokeswoman Molly Best wrote in an email.
But Scott also took aim at UF's contract with Attorney General James Uthmeier, paying him $100,000 to teach at the schools law college for two hours per week.
“I was told this arrangement was done by UF so the Attorney General would hire more UF Law grads,” Scott wrote. “I don’t know the Attorney General, but that is frankly bizarre and if true, it demonstrates a pattern of malfeasance in UF’s hiring and contracting processes. Does that mean all Florida law schools need to retain the Attorney General?”