![\"Florida](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIA_16_Florida_Legislation_Session_2026_MJO.JPG\" "\\"Florida")
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Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, listens during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, faced little pushback from Democrats during a confirmation hearing Thursday for his nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to Brazil \u2014 except needing to answer for the Trump administration\u2019s new tariff fight with the country.<\/p>\n
Late Wednesday, while Perez was sleeping ahead of addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about his nomination, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that the country would be imposing<\/a> a 25% tariff on certain Brazilian imports.<\/p>\n Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva shot back overnight on social media<\/a>, saying that Wednesday would \u201cgo down in the history of relations between Brazil and the United States as a lamentable milestone\u201d and promising to pursue reciprocal tariffs.<\/p>\n The sharp escalation between the two countries raises the stakes of Perez\u2019s nomination to the ambassadorial role, but Perez told the committee he was still learning about the U.S.\u2019s motivations for the new tariffs.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a new tariff that was implemented yesterday at some point overnight while I was asleep. I did read the articles this morning,\u201d Perez said in response to questions from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. \u201cAnd USTR has made their decisions. I will learn more about it over the next several weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Perez acknowledged that the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil but didn\u2019t respond directly to Kaine\u2019s argument that a tariff fight would therefore have a larger negative economic impact on the U.S. than Brazil.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have a trade surplus with Brazil, but nevertheless,\u201d Perez said, \u201cthere are some industries that have a significant gap.\u201d<\/p>\n Other than the surprise development in the country he\u2019s aiming to move to, Perez faced few challenging questions during Thursday\u2019s group confirmation hearing with a set of recent Trump nominees.<\/p>\n Neither Perez\u2019s support for a tax break for diplomats, which he could personally benefit from<\/a>, nor his list of legal clients who also had business with the state while he was speaker \u2014 revealed<\/a> in his federal ethics disclosures \u2014 came up.<\/p>\n Democrats on the committee spent most of their time grilling the hard-right Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano \u2014 nominated to the role of U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia \u2014 over his promotion of Christian nationalism and ties to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.<\/p>\n Florida Sen. Rick Scott presented Perez to the committee, with a quiet dig at his successor Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom Perez has frequently clashed with.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been most impressed with how Danny has changed the fiscal conversation in Tallahassee,\u201d Scott said. \u201cIn the year since my time as governor ended, the budget of the state of Florida has grown at an alarming rate. Danny was the first major leader in Tallahassee to say enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Perez\u2019s confirmation still needs to go up for a full Senate vote, which requires a simple majority. Since Republicans hold 53 of the 100 Senate seats, his confirmation is unlikely to fail.<\/p>\n