Trump’s cabinet moves the hand of Ron DeSantis for a gift – but possibly with strings attached

On By Littum

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will have a chance to make another mark on state politics with a major appointment if Sen. Marco Rubio becomes secretary of state. But a big question hangs over this possibility: How badly does President-elect Donald Trump want his daughter-in-law, Lara, to become a US senator?

DeSantis, like any Florida governor, has the ability to unilaterally appoint the person who would fill a Senate vacancy, which could come into play after Monday’s news of Trump’s expected nomination of Rubio to lead the State Department. Trump could still change his mind, warned three sources familiar with the selection process, who said the decision would not be final until the president-elect makes a formal announcement.

But if Rubio’s Senate seat becomes open, there’s little doubt 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, which tracks considerations about the potential vacancy.

DeSantis doesn’t have to listen to Trump after the two men saw their relationship fray amid DeSantis’ national rise and his failed 2024 presidential campaign. But the president-elect carried Florida by nearly 13 points this year, giving Trump a shot politically capital and at least the perception of leverage.

“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 to see DeSantis appoint Lara Trump. “He had a great night on Tuesday. He won by wide margins, including in Florida. I think it’s pretty clear that the move would not be controversial with 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 14 years. Another route getting significant attention, according to five sources NBC News spoke with, would be the so-called placeholder strategy.

Under 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 as the seat came up for a special election in 2026 to fill out the remaining two years of Rubio’s term — leaving DeSantis with an open Senate seat to run ahead of a likely 2028 runoff for the president.

“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,” a longtime DeSantis Counsel. said. “DeSantis controls the outcome either way.”

How the nomination process plays out will depend on whether some people’s initial push for Lara Trump turns into a tougher lobbying effort from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s political home base — and then how DeSantis responds to that pressure, if it materializes.

“Are they going to be able to alpha-dog him?” the same source said of DeSantis.

DeSantis’ team is aware of the dynamic.

“I’ve heard that, too,” a DeSantis ally said of Lara Trump, who was in the mix for the Senate nomination. “But have also heard from someone very high up that there is disagreement about whether it is a good idea.”

There is another possibility, though it’s an increasingly unlikely move: DeSantis would be allowed to nominate himself, a scenario that first presented itself over the summer when Trump considered Rubio as a potential nominee.

Two DeSantis advisers told NBC News that it is highly unlikely that DeSantis will nominate himself, although the option remains open.

Others on the list of potential appointees 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 was the first member of Congress to endorse DeSantis’ presidential bid, which was considered controversial because most of Florida’s Republican congressional delegation supported Trump.

“I think there are some scenarios more likely than others,” said a DeSantis ally, signaling that the placeholder strategy is likely. “But whatever direction the governor takes, there’s plenty of talent available for the election.”

DeSantis’ acrimonious relationship with Trump was one of the reasons his pick of Rubio for secretary of state surprised many political observers in Florida.

DeSantis and Trump were close when the then-president accelerated DeSantis’ once-protracted bid for governor in 2018, but there was an ugly falling out between the two 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 of Trump’s political operation and will serve as his chief of staff.

Wiles and DeSantis still have bad blood, leaving some to argue that she didn’t hand him a Senate appointment without a plan.

“My sense is they have a plan for the Florida angle,” said a longtime Florida staffer familiar with the Trump team’s decision-making process. “The last thing (Trump’s team) wants is to give Ron an opportunity to really mix things up and create some staying power for his staff, so I have to believe they’ll push hard if Ron is resilient.”

Because Trump has no ability to force DeSantis’ hand, the “push hard” part of things may come in the form of Trump’s vast right-wing social media and podcast ecosystem, which has helped make or break Republican political careers in the past . 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 will actually be making a public call to Governor DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump to fill Marco Rubio’s term,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, an early Trump supporter. Benny Johnsona prominent Trump supporter with more than 3 million followers on X. “She wanted to avoid a really ugly primary in two years.”

“I give her my full support,” she continued of Lara Trump, who is a resident of North Carolina. “I give her my full support.”