TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will get a chance to make a new mark on state politics with a major appointment when Sen. Marco Rubio becomes secretary of state. But one major question hangs over that opportunity: How badly does President-elect Donald Trump want his daughter-in-law, Lara, to become a U.S. senator?
DeSantis, like any Florida governor, has the ability to unilaterally appoint the person who could fill a vacant Senate seat, which could come into play after Monday’s news of Trump’s expected nomination of Rubio to to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Trump could still change his mind, three sources familiar with the selection process warned, saying the decision would not be final until the president-elect makes a formal announcement.
But if Rubio’s seat in the Senate opens up, there’s little doubt that DeSantis will face at least some pressure from Trump’s team to nominate a candidate they want, which would almost certainly be Lara Trump, according to seven people who follow the deliberations surrounding the possible vacancy.
DeSantis doesn’t have to listen to Trump after the two men saw their relationship falter amid DeSantis’ national rise and his failed 2024 presidential campaign. But the president-elect has sent Florida up nearly 13 points this year, giving Trump a opportunity for political capital and at least the perception of influence.
“I think that choice makes a lot of sense and would be great for Florida,” said one Trump ally, who acknowledged there is interest from the Trump world in seeing DeSantis appoint Lara Trump. “He had a great evening last Tuesday. He won by large margins, including in Florida. I think it’s pretty clear that this move would not be controversial for Florida Republicans.”
But Trump’s wishes are far from the only consideration when it comes to a Senate seat that hasn’t been open in fourteen years. Another route that is getting a lot of attention, according to five sources NBC News spoke to, is the so-called placeholder strategy.
In that scenario, DeSantis would likely appoint James Uthmeier, his longtime chief of staff and top political adviser who also did legal work for Trump’s first campaign and advised former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Uthmeier would then not run if a special election were held in 2026 to fill the remaining two years of Rubio’s term, leaving DeSantis with an open Senate seat ahead of a likely runoff campaign for president in 2028.
“I think the James option is very open. If DeSantis wanted to run for the seat, James would get out of the way, and if he didn’t, a trusted DeSantis ally would run for re-election,” he said. a longtime adviser to DeSantis. said. “DeSantis has control over the outcome either way.”
How the nomination process evolves will depend on whether the incipient pressure on Lara Trump by some figures turns into a tougher lobbying effort from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s political home base — and how DeSantis then responds to that pressure, if that becomes reality.
“Will they be able to chase him?” the same source said of DeSantis.
DeSantis’ team is aware of the dynamics.
“I heard that too,” a DeSantis ally said of Lara Trump running for Senate nomination. “But I’ve also heard from someone at a very high level that there’s some disagreement about whether that’s a good idea.”
There is another possibility, though it is increasingly unlikely: DeSantis could nominate himself, a scenario that first presented itself over the summer when Trump was considering Rubio as a potential running mate.
Two advisers to DeSantis told NBC News that it is highly unlikely that DeSantis would appoint himself, even if the option remains open.
Others on the list of possible appointments include Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Attorney General Ashley Moody, state House Speaker Paul Renner, former state House Speaker Jose Oliva and Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., who is the first member was from Congress backs DeSantis’ presidential campaign, which was considered controversial because most of Florida’s Republican congressional delegation supported Trump.
“I think some scenarios are more likely than others,” said one DeSantis ally, indicating the placeholder strategy is likely. “But whichever direction the governor chooses, there is a lot of talent available.”
DeSantis’ rough relationship with Trump was one reason why his choice of Rubio as secretary of state surprised many political watchers in Florida.
DeSantis and Trump were close when the then-president advanced DeSantis’ once-long bid for governor in 2018, but a nasty feud between the two erupted when it became clear that DeSantis would run against Trump in 2024. Another complicating factor: After the 2018 election, DeSantis fired his campaign manager Susie Wiles, who has since become a mainstay in Trump’s political operation and will serve as his chief of staff.
Wiles and DeSantis still have bad blood, leading some to argue that she didn’t give him a Senate appointment without a plan.
“I feel like they have a plan for the Florida angle,” said a longtime Florida aide familiar with the Trump team’s decision-making process. ‘The last one [Trump’s team] He wants to give Ron a chance to really shake things up and create a lasting force for his crew, so I have to believe they’ll push hard if Ron resists.”
With Trump unable to force DeSantis’ hand, the “pushing hard” part of things could come in the form of Trump’s vast right-wing social media and podcast ecosystem, which has helped craft Republican political careers in the past or break. Most recently, this loose coalition has tried to push Sen. Rick Scott of Florida over the finish line in his bid to become Senate majority leader, according to multiple media reports.
“I’m actually going to make a public call for Governor DeSantis to nominate Lara Trump to fill Marco Rubio’s term,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, an early Trump backer, told Benny Johnson, a prominent Trump supporter with more than 3 million followers on X. “She would avoid a very nasty primary in two years.”
“I give her my full support,” she continued about North Carolina resident Lara Trump. “I give her my full support.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
