A.G. Gancarski
Florida has a deep Republican bench, and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott suggests that Gov. Ron DeSantis has no shortage of options to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as Rubio leaves the legislative branch for the State Department.
While U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz is departing Congress to become Trump’s National Security Adviser, Scott thinks there are plenty of members of Florida’s congressional delegation who would be ideal for the Senate.
“Vern Buchanan, Byron Donalds, Kat Cammack, Cory Mills, Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez, María Salazar. We have got so much talent, it’s unbelievable,” Scott told radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Though he was Governor for eight years, Scott never had the opportunity to fill a Senate seat temporarily with an appointment, so this process provides a look into the criteria he finds valuable.
DeSantis has a number of options beyond members of Congress available to him as he explores this process, including Republican National Committee Chair Lara Trump, Attorney General Ashley Moody and even First Lady Casey DeSantis.
The Governor is in Italy this week for a trade mission, and while Trump administration insiders tell Florida Politics that Rubio’s selection is a done deal, it has not been officially announced. So DeSantis has some time to make a decision.
