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Federal Nominations Bring Florida Shakeups

Federal Nominations Bring Florida Shakeups

Several early nominees for positions in the next Trump administration have deep Florida connections. Prominent examples include U.S. Senator Marco Rubio being tapped for Secretary of State and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi being the nominee for U.S. Attorney General. Bondi’s nomination followed a brief cycle in which U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz from the Florida panhandle was a candidate and resigned from his House seat before withdrawing from consideration.

Gaetz’ resignation opened up his seat in the House of Representatives. This seat will be filled by a special election. State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is running for the position, which will require him to give up his position as Florida’s CFO. Patronis has resigned effective March 31, 2025. This means the Governor will choose the replacement CFO. The newly-named CFO essentially will become the incumbent in Florida’s next election cycle in 2026. Florida Senator Joe Gruters previously announced he will run for CFO in 2026 and naturally is interested in being named to the position in the meantime. Gruters has the support of President Trump. However, some observers have questioned whether Governor DeSantis will choose Gruters due to a sometimes-contentious history with him. This has led to speculation DeSantis might choose state Senator Blaise Ingoglia or possibly even another candidate as CFO.

The Governor also must appoint someone to replace Senator Rubio. This appointment has been the subject of considerable guesswork for many weeks. Most recently, media outlets are suggesting Governor DeSantis might name Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Rubio. Moody and DeSantis have been aligned on key issues, and Moody likewise has been supportive of policies consistent with those of the Trump administration. DeSantis has indicated that having someone who can hit the ground running on issues like illegal immigration and reining in federal spending is important in his evaluation process. If Governor DeSantis indeed names Attorney General Moody to the Senate, then the Governor would appoint her successor as well.

Regardless of the final appointments, the next few weeks might bring more changes to Florida’s executive branch than we’ve seen in the last six years.