In this episode of Breaking Battlegrounds, Congressman Dave Joyce from Ohio’s 14th congressional district provides invaluable insights into federal spending and legislative processes as a key member of the House Committee on Appropriations and Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Congressman Joyce dives into dissecting the Homeland Security Bill, navigating appropriations negotiations, and addressing budget concerns. Following Congressman Joyce, Evan Power, Chairman of the Florida Republican Party, joins the discussion to examine the Florida primary results, providing a comprehensive recap of the political dynamics in the Sunshine State. Finally, Politico reporter Kimberly Leonard offers analysis on Florida’s political landscape, including updates on Haiti and Governor Ron DeSantis’ response to Haiti. Stay tuned for Kiley’s Corner where she joins to provide an update on the missing Riley Strain, discuss squatter’s rights, and explore the future of subscriptions amidst news of Walmart’s self-checkout lanes potentially requiring subscriptions.
About our guests
Congressman Dave Joyce has dedicated his life to family and public service. After graduating with his Juris Doctorate from the University of Dayton, Dave worked as a public defender before being elected as Geauga County Prosecutor in 1988 – a position in which he served his community for nearly 25 years. In November of 2012, Dave was elected to represent the 14th Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives and is currently in his sixth term. He considers it a great honor to represent the people of Northeast Ohio and serve the communities where he was born and raised.
As a former prosecutor, the safety and wellbeing of Ohio’s communities remain one of Dave’s top priorities. He co-founded the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence in the 115th Congress and is the Vice Chair of the Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus. With Ohio being one of the states hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, Dave fights to ensure that the federal funding Congress provides to combat addiction effectively supports the lifesaving work local communities carry out on the front lines of this crisis.
Dave serves on the influential House Committee on Appropriations, which is responsible for scrutinizing federal spending and determining how your tax dollars are spent. In this role, he works to restore fiscal responsibility, which he believes is needed to create a stronger, more prosperous nation for the next generation. In keeping with a tradition he established while serving as Geauga County Prosecutor, Dave has returned more than $1.5 million from his personal Congressional budget to the U.S. Treasury since 2013.
In 2022, Dave was elected Chairman of the Republican Governance Group, a group of Republican lawmakers from across the country comprised of pragmatic members who are committed to productive and effective governance. Members carefully consider policy stances and aim to make a difference rather than pushing partisan noise.
In the first session of the 117th Congress, Dave was once again recognized as one of the most effective and bipartisan lawmakers in Washington by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Evan Power is Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He is a native of Chattanooga, TN where he graduated from the McCallie School. Mr. Power moved to Florida where he attended Florida State University. He received a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Master of Science in Political Science. Evan started his career working for the now-Senator Marco Rubio in the Florida House of Representatives, serving both in the Majority Office and the Procedures and Policy Office where he left after serving as the Legislative Analyst. In 2010 Mr. Power was elected Vice Chairman of the Leon County Republican Party and in 2014, he was elected Chairman.
Evan served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2016 and 2020, where he was elected to the convention rules committee. In 2017, he was elected Assistant Treasurer of the Republican Party of Florida. Mr. Power served as Chair of Chairs of the Republican Party from 2019 to 2023.
Kimberly Leonard is a politics reporter and author of Florida Playbook, based in Miami. Her coverage focuses on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former President Donald Trump and the future of the conservative movement in the state. She has extensive experience covering financial disclosures, spending projections, and health care policy.
Kimberly previously worked as a senior Florida politics correspondent for Insider. Before that, she spent a decade covering health care policy in D.C. and has worked for the Washington Examiner, U.S. News & World Report, the Center for Public Integrity and the Huffington Post Investigative Fund.
