Janelle Irwin Taylor
Rep. Kevin Steele is being “encouraged” to run for Chief Financial Officer by President Donald Trump’s political camp.
That would set up a GOP battle between Team Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, and offer a possible showdown between Steele and current CFO Blaise Ingoglia, who was appointed to the position by DeSantis this Summer.
Steele was one of several Florida lawmakers in Washington this week meeting at the White House with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“My meetings at the White House made clear that Florida needs a CFO who won’t gamble with our future,” Steele told Florida Politics, a clear shot at Ingoglia.
Steele lacks the profile Ingoglia enjoys. Ingoglia long made a name for himself in the Legislature as a hawk against government overreach, using the X handle “@GovGoneWild” to symbolize his disdain for big government. He also previously served as a former Chair of the Republican Party of Florida, a position that gives him access to some of the state’s biggest power brokers within the GOP.
But if Steele runs under the Trump banner, it could neutralize, to at least some degree, the name recognition disparity.
And if Steele runs, it could also put some elected officials in a position to reevaluate their support for Ingoglia, who just this week secured endorsements from dozens of Tampa Bay area elected officials, ranging from local Sheriffs and County Commissioners, to state Representatives, a member of Congress and a powerful state Senator.
Steele represents House District 55, a seat he has held since succeeding former Rep. Kaylee Tuck in 2022 in the Pasco County-based district.
Raised in Tampa, Steele attended both Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida, where he earned a degree in business management. After stints at GTE and a start-up called Z-tel, Steele started his own health care technology company, DataLink, in 2001.
Ingoglia isn’t the only 2026 cabinet incumbent the White House is potentially targeting. Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez was also among those visiting Trump and Vance this week and is similarly being courted to run for state Attorney General. If that candidacy comes to fruition, it would set up another competitive GOP challenge for DeSantis’ hand-picked Attorney General, James Uthmeier.
