Rick Scott continues to press for Lara Trump Senate appointment

rick scott
DeSantis is in no rush to make the selection.

It’s decision time for Florida’s Governor regarding who replaces Marco Rubio in the Senate. And Florida’s most recent former Governor continues to offer unsolicited advice to Ron DeSantis.

“We need more Republicans in Washington who actually represent the Republican Party back home and will be steadfast in their commitment to fulfill the mandate from this election — to Make America Great Again. Lara Trump is that person,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott posted to social media.

Scott had initially floated the names of members of Congress, such as Vern Buchanan, Kat Cammack, Mario Díaz-BalartByron Donalds, Carlos GiménezCory Mills and María Elvira Salazar, but quickly settled in on the Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee and President-elect Donald Trump’s daughter in law.

Scott told Axios he’s known Lara Trump for a long time, and that she “did a great job with the RNC,” and is a “great spokesperson” and “conservative.”

DeSantis’ pick won’t be rushed, meanwhile, despite the full-court press from Trump World to sell the selection.

On social media Monday, the second-term Governor noted that Rubio is “expected to resign from the Senate to assume duties as Secretary of State when the Trump administration takes power on January 20th, creating a vacancy roughly two months from today.”

With that time frame in mind, DeSantis and his advisors have time to contemplate the right move.

“We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting. More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January,” DeSantis said.

The Governor laid out his priorities for the position as well, a list that leaves openings for a wide range of candidates.

“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 said.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


6 comments

  • Scott Kain Rineer MD MPH

    November 18, 2024 at 4:50 pm

    open to any non-politicians?

  • Eduardo Burkhart

    November 18, 2024 at 5:42 pm

    We are for Lara Trump because Lara supports for Diversity Equality for all individuals. We need more youths for GOP!!! GOP needs youths for new generations to generations. GOP will be good for everyone, What President Lincoln Did.

    • JD

      November 18, 2024 at 6:22 pm

      Kind of like Nazi youths, right?

      • MH/Duuuval

        November 20, 2024 at 11:04 am

        MAGA DEI at work — stand back!

  • SallyB

    November 18, 2024 at 8:39 pm

    Governor DeSantis will never appoint a nepotic carpetbagger from North Carolina to represent Floridians and the free state of Florida in the United States Senate. PERIOD!

  • Larry Gillis, Libertarian (Cape Coral)

    November 18, 2024 at 11:27 pm

    SENATE VACANCY: APPOINT A LIBERTARIAN

    In addition to all of the usual suspects, the Governor should consider appointing a Libertarian to fill the upcoming vacancy in the US Senate. My Party (the Libertarian Party of Florida) offered a nominee this Fall, Feena Bonoan. She should definitely be looked at.

    Libertarians offer a fresh perspective on the uses of governmental power, where “freedom” is always the default choice. The actual use of the coercive powers of government is a desperate last choice, only used in extremis. This viewpoint should certainly be seated at the table in Washington. It should be Florida’s contribution to the ongoing dialogue on this important question.

    Frankly, I suspect that the Governor’s priorities may well lie elsewhere. He will probably appoint some deserving apparatchik. However — to be complete and thorough about all this — he should at least “inventory all the possibilities” before making a final decision. That would include Feena.

    Thank you.

    Larry Gillis, Cape Coral

Comments are closed.


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