Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis might not have emerged victorious from the latest GOP presidential primary, but he remains a widely popular figure in his home state and beyond.
As such, there have been rumors circulating that he might appoint himself to serve out the remainder of Sen. Marco Rubio’s term. President Donald Trump has nominated the Republican senator to lead the U.S. Department of State.
During a recent press conference, however, the governor poured cold water on such prognostication, as The Hill reported:
“Absolutely not,” DeSantis told reporters Friday when asked about the scenario.
“It’s funny, you know, these people write these things,” the governor said. “And anytime they’re talking about anything I’m doing, they’re just making it up, right?”
“I mean, they’ll talk to someone because [they’ll] say, ‘Oh, someone familiar with the governor’s thinking.’ Understand, that means they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. That means somebody is saying, ‘Well, I know how the governor thinks. He’s probably saying this.’ So they try to do grist for the mill,” he said.
The topic of Rubio’s replacement has sparked a number of social media posts in the weeks since Trump announced the nomination:
Politico reported this week about the latest contender to throw his hat in the ring:
Rep. Cory Mills, a central Florida Republican just elected to a second term in Congress, said he will run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Marco Rubio regardless of who Gov. Ron DeSantis picks for the post.
“You can probably guarantee my hat is going to be thrown in the ring for 2026,” Mills told reporters at the Florida Republican annual meeting being held in Orlando.
Rubio, who was elected to a third term two years ago, is stepping down because President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to become secretary of State. DeSantis will get to name someone to hold the position until 2026 when it will be on the ballot again. The 2026 winner will serve for two years before it goes before voters again.
DeSantis said this past week that he has not decided who he will pick for the spot although on Friday he strongly ruled out any consideration of appointing himself to the job. One of the leading contenders for the appointment is Attorney General Ashley Moody, a strong ally of DeSantis.
Here’s what DeSantis had to say about the selection process during a recent Fox News Channel appearance:
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.
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