Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) previewed plans on Monday to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), whom President-elect Donald Trump nominated to serve as secretary of state, emphasizing that Florida’s next senator must “strong on immigration” and border security.
“Senator Marco 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,” DeSantis began, informing Floridians that his team has already received what he described as “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,” he continued, listing must-have qualities for the next senator in the Sunshine State.
“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 added.
This announcement comes as some big names call on DeSantis to choose Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair and Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as Rubio’s replacement.
“If this is something I am asked to do, I would seriously consider it, but I have yet to hear from Gov. DeSantis. So we’ll see what happens,” Lara Trump said during an appearance with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo last week.