Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) stated Monday that he’ll seemingly decide on who will change President-elect Trump’s secretary of State decide Sen. Marco Rubio (R) within the higher chamber by January.
“We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting,” DeSantis wrote in a submit on the social platform X.
“More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January,” he continued.
Hypothesis over who will change Rubio has reached a fever pitch, with Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, rising as a key contender.
Quite a lot of lawmakers, together with Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), in addition to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), have publicly backed Lara Trump.
Different names floated to exchange Rubio embody DeSantis’s chief of employees James Uthmeier, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez (R) and state Lawyer Basic Ashley Moody (R).
Supporters of Lara Trump argue that having her within the Senate would be certain that the president-elect has two Senate allies representing Florida, which has turn into the middle of the GOP universe. Nonetheless, selecting somebody like Uthmeier would guarantee DeSantis has certainly one of his closest allies within the chamber.
DeSantis and the president-elect have traditionally had a rocky relationship, changing into shut allies in the course of the governor’s 2018 first gubernatorial bid however partaking in a fierce rivalry as they confronted off in the course of the 2024 GOP presidential main.
The 2 patched up their rivalry earlier this yr throughout a gathering, which Trump known as “great.” DeSantis was additionally given a talking position on the Republican Nationwide Conference.
Some Republicans argue appointing Lara Trump may give DeSantis a chance to additional strengthen his relationship with the president-elect.
