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With Florida's senior Sen. Marco Rubio tapped to be
President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state, it's up to
the governor to appoint his replacement, should Rubio be
confirmed by his colleagues in the Senate.
Under the U.S. Constitution and state law, the governor has the
power to fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate, while voters decide
who should fill vacancies in the U.S. House.
DeSantis is gathering names and conducting “preliminary vetting”
after receiving “strong interest” from several potential picks,
he posted on social media Monday. In the coming weeks, the
governor plans to do more extensive vetting and candidate
interviews.
“Florida deserves a Senator who will help President Trump
deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and
border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and
administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be
animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of
results,” DeSantis posted on X.
Some Republicans in the state are pressuring DeSantis to appoint
Lara Trump, including Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who voiced his
support for the president-elect’s daughter-in-law on social
media. Lara Trump is a co-chair of the Republican National
Committee and lives in Palm Beach County with her husband Eric
Trump.
“If I am tapped to serve in another capacity, it truly would be
my honor,” Lara Trump said in a Fox News appearance over the
weekend. “I have not been asked yet, but I certainly would
strongly consider it if it is presented to me.”
Some Republican politicos say appointing a member of the
president-elect's family to the Senate is a way for DeSantis to
curry favor with his onetime rival for the GOP's presidential
nomination, and score a win with Trump's dedicated supporters as
the governor considers his own political future. The pick could
also give Florida another direct line to the Trump White House.
Other names being floated include Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez,
Florida's Attorney General Ashley Moody and former Florida House
Speaker Paul Renner.
Should Rubio be confirmed, his replacement would serve for two
years until the next regularly scheduled election in 2026, at
which point the seat would be up for election again.
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