Florida Gov. Attending Former President's Service

Washington, DC - Florida Governor Rick Scott will attend the funeral service Wednesday for former President George H.W. Bush in Washington, D.C., as the country continues to mourn the death of the father of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former President George W. Bush. No other member of the Florida Cabinet --- Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis or Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam --- is expected to travel to Washington for the service. A Bondi spokesman said she will not attend the service. Scott, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in the November 6th election, will attend the service planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the National Cathedral in Washington, spokesman McKinley Lewis said. Bush, the nation’s 41st president, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday morning. A second memorial service is planned for Thursday at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston. Bush will eventually be laid to rest at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. Bush, 94, died Friday of vascular Parkinsonism. “I already miss the greatest human being that I will ever know,” Jeb Bush tweeted Saturday morning. “Love you Dad!”

I already miss the greatest human being that I will ever know. Love you Dad!

— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) December 1, 2018

President Donald Trump has designated Wednesday as a national day of mourning. Scott on Saturday ordered flags lowered to half-staff in Florida for a month to honor the late president. Scott and the Cabinet will meet Tuesday for what is their final scheduled Cabinet meeting. They were also scheduled to meet Wednesday as the state clemency board, but that meeting was postponed as Scott plans to attend the service in Washington. No makeup date has been set for the clemency meeting, said Kelly Corder, a spokeswoman for the Florida Commission on Offender Review. Wednesday’s clemency meeting was already drawing questions because voters approved a constitutional amendment last month aimed at automatically restoring voting rights to most felons who have served their sentences. The Florida Commission on Offender Review noted the clemency board already put a temporary hold on considering pending applications for the restoration of civil rights, “while the new framework required to implement the constitutional changes is defined, which may include the need for implementing legislation in the upcoming legislative session.” The board continues to process applications for other forms of clemency, including commutations, pardons and restoration of firearm authority.