Jared Evan Moskowitz (/ˈmɒskəwɪts/ MOSS-kə-wits; born December 18, 1980) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 23rd congressional district since 2023. As a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Moskowitz served on the Broward County Commission from 2021 to 2022 and as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management from 2019 to 2021. Before his appointment to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, he served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the Coral Springs-Parkland area in northern Broward County from 2012 to 2019.
Jared Moskowitz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 23rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Ted Deutch |
| Member of the Broward County Commission from the 8th district | |
| In office January 12, 2022 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Appointed by | Ron DeSantis |
| Preceded by | Barbara Sharief |
| Succeeded by | Robert McKinzie |
| Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management | |
| In office January 15, 2019 – April 30, 2021 | |
| Governor | Ron DeSantis |
| Preceded by | Wes Maul |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Guthrie |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 97th district | |
| In office November 6, 2012 – January 11, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Martin David Kiar |
| Succeeded by | Dan Daley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jared Evan Moskowitz December 18, 1980 Coral Springs, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Leah Rifkin |
| Education | George Washington University (BA) Nova Southeastern University (JD) |
| Website | House website |
Early life and education
editMoskowitz was born in Coral Springs, Florida on December 18, 1980. His father, Michael, was an attorney, philanthropist and prominent Democratic fundraiser.[1] Moskowitz graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from George Washington University[3] and a Juris Doctor from the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University.[4] Moskowitz is Jewish.
Early political career
editMoskowitz worked as an intern for Vice President Al Gore, served as an assistant on Joe Lieberman's 2004 presidential campaign, and was a Florida delegate pledged to Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. While attending law school, he was elected to the Parkland City Commission in 2006 and reelected in 2010, serving until he resigned to run for the legislature in 2012. While serving as a city commissioner, Moskowitz supported efforts to make the city more eco-friendly by providing subsidies to households that purchase low-flow toilets and showerheads, energy-efficient air conditioners, and hybrid cars.[5] After graduating, he worked for AshBritt Environmental as director of government relations and general counsel.
Florida House of Representatives
editWhen the state legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Moskowitz opted to run in the newly drawn 97th house district, which consisted of northern Broward County. He won the Democratic primary unopposed and advanced to the general election, where he faced Republican nominee James Gleason, a business owner who had been an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Coral Springs. The Sun-Sentinel praised both candidates as "good choices for an open seat" but endorsed Moskowitz, declaring that his "good grasp of statewide and local issues" made him the better candidate.[6] He defeated Gleason with 69% of the vote.[7]
During his first term in the legislature, Moskowitz sponsored a memorial for Robert Levinson, who has been held as a hostage in Iran since 2007, calling on "Congress, the Obama administration and the Secretary of State's office to work to get Levinson home." Moskowitz's proposed memorial passed both houses of the legislature and was signed by Governor Rick Scott.[8]
In 2014 and 2016, Moskowitz was reelected to the legislature without opposition.
In 2018, after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Moskowitz helped draft the bipartisan Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act, the first comprehensive mental health, school safety, and gun control bill of its kind in over 20 years. This bill increased the age to purchase a firearm to 21, implemented a red-flag law, created a three-day waiting period to purchase firearms, increased security requirements for public schools, funded centralized school safety surveillance programs, and improved mental health services for students.[9]
Division of Emergency Management
editOn December 6, 2018, Governor-elect Ron DeSantis announced that he would appoint Moskowitz as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.[10] Moskowitz resigned from the Florida House of Representatives and took office as DEM director on January 15, 2019.[11]
Moskowitz took over Florida's Division of Emergency Management during the recovery of Hurricane Michael, a category-5 storm that made landfall in Florida in October 2018. Recovery efforts were notably slow during early recovery, and Moskowitz is credited with speeding up the recovery process and securing historic 90% reimbursement from the federal government for all disaster-assistance efforts.[12]
In early April 2020, Moskowitz made headlines when he complained that foreign countries were paying the American company 3M to reroute millions of N95 masks destined for Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, "For the last several weeks, we have had a boiler room chasing down 3M authorized distributors [and] brokers representing that they sell the N95 masks, only get to warehouses that are completely empty." He then said that the 3M-authorized U.S. distributors later told him that the masks for which Florida contracted never showed up because the company instead prioritized orders that came in later, for higher prices, from foreign countries, including Germany, Russia, and France. As a result, Moskowitz highlighted the issue on Twitter, saying that he decided to "troll" 3M.[13][14][15]
Moskowitz led the department during the early distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, creating an administrative network for all 67 Florida counties. He is credited with working with community organizations, including black and Hispanic churches, HUD housing, and senior assisted-living facilities, to vaccinate at-risk populations efficiently.[16] He criticized 60 Minutes for running a story that claimed that Governor Ron DeSantis engaged in a pay-to-play scheme with supermarket chain Publix over distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, writing that "[n]o one" from DeSantis's "office suggested Publix" to distribute the vaccines.[17][18]
Moskowitz was called the "Master of Disaster" by several news publications for his handling of the pandemic.[19]
On February 15, 2021, Moskowitz announced his resignation from the Division of Emergency Management, citing his desire to spend time with his father, who was battling pancreatic cancer. He officially left the Division in May 2021.
On August 5, 2021, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava appointed Moskowitz to advise Miami-Dade's COVID-19 response.[20]
U.S. House of Representatives
editElections
edit2022
editAfter incumbent congressman Ted Deutch announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022, Moskowitz declared his candidacy for the district, which had been renumbered from the 22nd to 23rd in redistricting.[21] Moskowitz won the election against Republican nominee Joe Budd.[22]
Tenure
edit
Moskowitz assumed office on January 3, 2023, succeeding Democrat Ted Deutch.
On July 29, 2024, Moskowitz was announced as one of six Democratic members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.[23]
Political positions
editCOVID-19 policy
editOn February 1, 2023, Moskowitz was one of 11 Democrats to vote for a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.[24][25]
Israel
editOn November 2, 2023, Moskowitz was one of 12 House Democrats to vote for a $14.3 billion aid package to Israel that was funded by cutting the IRS budget.[26] He denounced pro-Palestinians demonstrations at Columbia University as anti-Semitic and chided university leadership for not protecting Jewish students.[27][28] Moskowitz stated the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu as "irrelevant because Israel is not a party to their treaty."[29]
Committee assignments
editFor the 118th Congress:[30]
Caucus memberships
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Prominent Democratic fundraiser dies from pancreatic cancer". AP News. 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
- ^ "Shooting was painfully close for state rep who graduated from school targeted by gunman". Tampa Bay Times. February 14, 2018. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
- ^ "Ten GW Alumni Elected to Congress | GW Today | The George Washington University". GW Today. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
- ^ "Questionnaire: Jared Moskowitz, candidate for U.S. House District 23". Sun Sentinel. 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
- ^ Skoloff, Brian (December 27, 2007). "Cities enticing residents to go green". USA Today. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ "State House Districts 97 and 98: Chose Moskowitz and Edwards". Sun-Sentinel. October 15, 2012. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 097 Race - Nov 06, 2012". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved Jun 4, 2021.
- ^ Huriash, Lisa J. (December 13, 2013). "Government needs to 'step up,' Levinson family says". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ Sweeney, Dan (March 6, 2018). "Florida House readies school safety bill for vote". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Huriash, Lisa (2018-12-06). "DeSantis chooses South Florida Democrat as state's emergency management leader". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ "Representatives Of The Florida House". Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ "Feds boost money for Hurricane Michael recovery". Fox 13 Tampa Bay. January 24, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Halon, Yael (3 April 2020). "Florida emergency management official says 3M selling masks to foreign countries: 'We're chasing ghosts'". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Interview With Jared Moskowitz, Director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management". WFOR-TV. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Man, Anthony (5 April 2020). "Florida emergency management chief says state will have enough ICU beds and ventilators". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ^ Saunders, Forrest (January 29, 2021). "Florida's partnership with churches vaccinates more than 10,000 to date". WPTV West Palm Beach. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ "Ron DeSantis pushes back on allegation of pay-to-play COVID scheme". 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ "Florida governor rebuts vaccine 'pay-to-play' report on CBS". AP News. 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ "From coronavirus to hurricanes, 2020 is forcing Broward County's Jared Moskowitz to become the 'master of disaster'". Sun Sentinel. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Bureau, Jeffrey Schweers, Capital. "Jared Moskowitz — Florida's 'Master of Disaster' — to advise Miami-Dade's COVID response". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "50 elected officials say Jared Moskowitz is the one to succeed Ted Deutch". Florida Politics. 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
- ^ Dwork, David (November 8, 2022). "Jared Moskowitz wins race for Florida's 23rd Congressional District, replacing Ted Deutch". WPLG. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ "House leaders announce members of bipartisan task force investigating Trump assassination attempt". Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "House passes resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency". February 2023.
- ^ "On Passage - H.J.RES.7: Relating to a national emergency declared by". 12 August 2015.
- ^ Oshin, Olafimihan (October 10, 2023). "Florida Democrat says he'll vote for Israel aid bill despite IRS cuts: 'I am not going to take the bait'". The Hill. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ Garrity, Kelly (April 21, 2024). "'Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous': White House responds to chaos at Columbia". Politico. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Fineout, Gary (April 27, 2024). "Democrats find their Florida man". Politico. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Cohen, David (May 26, 2024). "'We might as well call them the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic'". Politico. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Jared Moskowitz". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "Endorsed Candidates". NewDem Action Fund. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
External links
edit
- Congressman Jared Moskowitz official U.S. House website
- Jared Moskowitz for Congress campaign website
- Appearances on C-SPAN