作为最富有的现任参议员和控制着参议院共和党竞选团队的人，同时也在增加自己的政治战争资金，佛罗里达州参议员里克·斯科特(Rick Scott)通常不需要帮助就他的提议发表意见。

然而，民主党人想让他和他的计划出名。在这个税收季，来自白宫的中期信息不同寻常地聚焦于斯科特的“拯救美国计划”中的几个部分共和主义者希望他不要再说。

民主党参议员竞选委员会现在在佛罗里达州和威斯康星州设立了斯科特头像的广告牌，作为广播广告、邮件和专门网站的补充。白宫利用报税截止日期发表声明称，总统乔·拜登希望为中产阶级减税，“而由参议员斯科特领导的国会共和党人则提议对中产阶级家庭大幅增税。”

参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)已经不厌其烦地表示，共和党的议程不会包括他所谓的“一项对一半美国人增税，并在五年内取消社会保障和医疗保险的法案”。

在共和党的另一翼，前总统唐纳德·特朗普最近支持的俄亥俄州参议员候选人也是不喜欢的人之一。万斯(J.D. Vance)在最近的一次初选辩论中表示，“倡导中产阶级的增长”代表着“共和党的一个笑话”。

斯科特回应说，他不会对目前纳税的人增税。尽管如此，他仍坚持自己的建议，即确保所有美国工人至少缴纳一些税，以及让所有联邦项目到期的建议，除非国会延长这些项目。

“我的一生都在听人们告诉我，你知道，你做得不对。你不能，你不应该这样做，”斯科特告诉华盛顿邮报在本周发表的一篇报道中。

斯科特预测了两党的反弹，并将其作为“华盛顿怯懦”的例子。但是对于今年秋天有很多事情要做的共和党人来说，斯科特的计划是他们最有可能反对的。

与...的概要阿维里·哈珀

一瞬间，佛罗里达州联邦法官推翻了疾病预防控制中心对公共交通的联邦口罩要求。

美国地方法院法官凯瑟琳·米泽尔(Kathryn Mizelle)周一裁定，口罩要求“超出了疾病预防控制中心的法定权限。”疾病预防控制中心最近将该授权延长至5月3日，但由于该裁决，运输安全局将不会强制执行。

这一决定的后果引起了如此大的混乱，以至于白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基无法立即告诉记者登机的乘客是否需要戴口罩。

“疾病预防控制中心建议将该命令延长两周，以便能够评估最新的科学，履行其保护美国人民的责任，”普萨基说。“所以这显然是一个令人失望的决定。”

一名白宫官员随后发表声明澄清说，这项命令不会强制执行，允许旅行者不带面具出行。空乘人员协会指出了这一决定及其直接影响可能造成的混乱。

“在航空运营中，不可能简单地将开关从一分钟切换到下一分钟，”工会主席萨拉·纳尔逊说。

随着新的新冠肺炎感染率增加了21%,这项授权被取消。虽然该裁决可能会被上诉，但与此同时，它将使白宫对疫情缓解努力的信息复杂化。

小费布列塔尼·谢泼德

佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)正在朝着一个巨大的政治胜利迈进，因为他所在州的立法机构周二召开特别会议，讨论(并可能通过)德桑蒂斯及其顾问提出的选区重划地图。

上周，德桑蒂斯提出了一份严重倾向于共和党的地图，创造了18个倾向于共和党的席位和8个倾向于民主党的席位，如果获得通过，将有效地消除民主党在全国重划选区的优势，并威胁到该党在11月份众议院的微弱多数。

德桑蒂斯的提议还消除了佛罗里达州北部的一个黑人占多数的地区，该地区被州长视为“种族不公平划分”，并分裂了奥兰多地区的黑人选民。

约翰·拉乌/美联社

佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯在签署为期15周的堕胎禁令前对支持者讲话...

尽管共和党领导人表示，他们计划通过德桑蒂斯提交的任何文件，但包括州议会黑人成员在内的数百名抗议者计划周二在杰克逊维尔的佛罗里达州议会大厦外抗议，这是国会重划选区行动日的一部分。

根据活动组织者平等权利组织(Equal Ground)的一份新闻稿，发言者将声称德桑蒂斯和他的立法机构“正在积极努力，通过对黑人选民在政府中的代表性进行蓄意和无端的攻击，剥夺佛罗里达人的自由”。

即使德桑蒂斯能让他的地图通过，也不清楚它是否能在法庭上经受住挑战。

只有三个州-密苏里州、新罕布什尔州和佛罗里达州-完成了重新划分选区的进程。

今天的数字，由五点三十八分驱动

109.这是截至4月17日前总统特朗普支持的州长、联邦办公室、司法部长或国务卿候选人的数量。正如FiveThirtyEight的纳撒尼尔·拉基奇(Nathaniel Rakich)和让·易(Jean Yi)所写，根据我们的研究，至少78%以上的人认为2020年的选举存在欺诈行为。特朗普的支持策略在这一点上最一致的部分之一是支持相信“弥天大谎”的候选人。阅读更多纳杉尼尔和简的作品关于特朗普目前为止的背书。

Democrats define new foe in tax debate: The Note

As the wealthiest current senator and the man controlling the Senate GOP's campaign arm while growing his own political war chest, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., generally doesn't need help getting the word out about his proposals.

Democrats, though, want to make him and his plans famous. Midterm messaging from the White House on down this tax season has an uncommon focus on a select few planks of Scott's "Plan to Rescue America" that manyRepublicanswish he'd stop talking about.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee now has billboards up in Florida and Wisconsin with Scott's face on them to supplement radio ads, mailings and a dedicated website. The White House used the tax filing deadline to blast out a statement saying President Joe Biden wants tax cuts for the middle class "while Congressional Republicans, led by Senator Scott, are proposing big tax increases on middle-class families."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has already gone out of his way to say the Republican agenda would not include what he called "a bill that raises taxes on half the American people, and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years."

Over on another wing of the GOP, former President Donald Trump's recently endorsed candidate for Senate in Ohio is among those who aren't fans either. J.D. Vance said at a recent primary debate that "advocating for middle-class increases" represents "a joke for the Republican Party."

Scott has responded by saying he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone who currently pays them. Still, he is standing by his proposals to ensure that all American workers pay at least some taxes, as well as his proposal to have all federal programs expire unless they're renewed by Congress.

"My whole life has been people telling me that, you know, you're doing it the wrong way. You can't, you shouldn't be doing this," Scotttold The Washington Postin a story published this week.

Scott predicted the bipartisan backlash and has held it up as an example of "Beltway cowardice." But to Republicans who see plenty to run on this fall, Scott's plan so far stands out as something they're more likely to be running against.

The RUNDOWN withAveri Harper

In an instant, a Florida federal judge upended the CDC's federal mask mandate for public transportation.

U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Mizelle ruled Monday that the mask mandate "exceeds the CDC's statutory authority." The CDC had recently extended the mandate to May 3, but because of the ruling, the Transportation Security Administration will not enforce it.

The aftermath of the decision prompted so much confusion that White House press secretary Jen Psaki couldn't immediately tell reporters if passengers boarding flights would need to wear a mask.

"The CDC recommended continuing the order for additional time -- two weeks -- to be able to assess the latest science in keeping with its responsibility to protect the American people," Psaki said. "So this is obviously a disappointing decision."

A later statement from a White House official clarified that the mandate wouldn't be enforced, allowing travelers to go maskless. The Association of Flight Attendants called out the confusion that the decision and its immediate implications could cause.

"In aviation operations, it is impossible to simply flip a switch from one minute to the next," said union President Sara Nelson.

The vacated mandate comes as the rate of new COVID-19 infections has increased by 21%. While the ruling is likely to be appealed, in the meantime it will complicate the White House's messaging on pandemic mitigation efforts.

The TIP withBrittany Shepherd

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is barreling toward a huge political win, as his state's legislature meets Tuesday in a special session to discuss (and likely pass) a redistricting map proposed by DeSantis and his advisers.

Last week, DeSantis put forward a map heavily skewed toward Republicans, creating 18 Republican-leaning and eight Democratic-leaning seats, which, if passed, would effectively eliminate Democrats' national redistricting advantage and threaten the slim majority hold the party has on the House of Representatives come November.

DeSantis' proposal also eliminates a Black majority district in northern Florida that the governor viewed as "racially gerrymandered" and splits up Black voters around the Orlando area.

While Republican leaders say they plan to pass whatever DeSantis presents, hundreds of protestors, including Black members of the state legislature, plan to protest outside the Florida State Capitol in Jacksonville on Tuesday as part of a Congressional Redistricting Day of Action.

Speakers will claim DeSantis and his legislature are "actively working to strip Floridians' freedoms away through deliberate and uncalled for attacks on Black voters' representation in government," according to a release from event organizers Equal Ground, a voting rights group.

Even if DeSantis can get his map through, it's unclear if it will withstand a challenge in the courts.

Only three states --Missouri, New Hampshire and Florida-- have completed their redistricting processes.

NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight

109.That's the number of candidates former President Trump has endorsed for governor, federal office, attorney general or secretary of state as of April 17. And as FiveThirtyEight's Nathaniel Rakich and Jean Yi write, at least 78 -- more than 70% --believe the 2020 election was fraudulent, according to our research. One of the most consistent parts of Trump's endorsement strategy at this point is endorsing candidates who believe the "Big Lie."Read more from Nathaniel and Jeanon Trump's endorsements so far.