TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott has been under heavy fire from the media, the public and fellow politicians. It all came to a head Thursday at their meeting in Tampa.
"In hindsight, it's clear I could have handled this better. The buck stops here," Scott said.
Recommended Videos
Scott opened up the monthly cabinet meeting by addressing the issue that has dogged him since December -- the firing of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey.
The meeting was being held at the Florida State Fairgrounds, but there was a media circus inside. The cabinet went back back and forth for about 90 minutes, talking about new agency head procedures.
Other members of the cabinet pressed the governor to make sure there was fair play.
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam pushed the cabinet to address the allegations that Scott's office asked the FDLE to run interference.
"A potentially innocent person may have been implicated in something they hadn't done," said Putnam. "In my conversations with Gerry Bailey, I sifted that out as being the most serious of the allegations."
CFO Jeff Atwater suggested taking another look at the new FDLE chief.
"I ask to consider a revisit of Mr. Swearingen's appointment," Atwater said.
The cabinet is the subject of a Sunshine Law lawsuit. Pam Bondi said she didn't want to talk about it.
"It's not appropriate for any of us to talk about lending litigation when we are parties to it," Bondi said. "I can tell you I did not violate the Sunshine Laws, nor did any of my staff."
No investigation was agreed to. The cabinet said they'd expand on their proposals at their next meeting.
The governor's proposal for preventing another fiasco like this in the future included annual agency head reviews and a more inclusive review process from all cabinet members.