Russia bans most of Florida's congressional delegation
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Russia has banned 963 American businessmen, activists, diplomats and politicians from entering the country – including 28 of 29 members of Florida's congressional delegation.
- That's according to a list posted to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation this weekend.
What they're saying: "We emphasize that the hostile actions taken by Washington, which boomerang against the United States itself, will continue to receive a proper rebuff," the ministry said in a statement.
- "Russian counter-sanctions are forced and aimed at forcing the ruling American regime, which is trying to impose a neo-colonial 'rules-based world order' on the rest of the world, to change its behavior, recognizing new geopolitical realities."
Zoom in: Missing without explanation from the travel ban list is Sen. Rick Scott, former Florida governor.
- His predecessor in the Senate, NASA administrator Bill Nelson, is banned. Nelson's entry on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website notes that he was a Democratic senator from 2001 to 2019.
- Scott has been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "disgusting, tyrannical regime" and introduced a bill in March that would require the feds to review top Russian oil companies every 90 days to see if they should be removed from the United States' Entity List.
- Scott’s office did not return a call for comment.
Context: The ban is a "largely symbolic move," the Washington Post reports, and includes Biden administration members, politicians from both parties, tech executives, journalists, dead lawmakers and actor Morgan Freeman.
Of note: Other Floridians banned include former Broward County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Mahl, and former Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee from 2011 to 2013.
- Former President Trump of Palm Beach is not listed.