Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s waiting till the last minute to announce his replacement for outgoing U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio because he doesn’t want the new person to be “a piñata” for the news media.
DeSantis spoke by phone with conservative radio host Erick Erickson Wednesday. Rubio, in office since 2011, was named by President-elect Donald Trump to be the next U.S. secretary of state. He was questioned by U.S. senators as part of the confirmation process earlier in the day and was
“So I think Senator Rubio is likely going to get confirmed and officially appointed in the afternoon of January 20th,” DeSantis said. “Obviously, President Trump takes office at noon on January 20th, so it will be before then. So I would say, stay tuned. … It’s going to be imminent. It’s not going to happen today, but it will happen very soon.”
The governor has scheduled a press conference in Orlando Thursday morning at 10 a.m. It is not clear if that will be when he makes the announcement.
On Wednesday, DeSantis appeared in Winter Haven to outline his ideas for a special legislative session, scheduled to start Jan. 27, to take on illegal immigration in the state. With him, among others, was Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, considered one of the leading contenders to replace Rubio.
Rubio, DeSantis added, is “still a U.S. senator, and his resignation is not effective until he’s actually confirmed and appointed as Secretary of State … But nevertheless, people were asking (who his replacement was going to be) two months ago.”
“… I can say, ‘this is the person’ … and then there’s two months where they’re just a piñata, where the media attacks them all the time and they can’t fight back. I’m not going to do that; I’m going to wait until closer. So yeah, you guys will hear some news relatively shortly.”
DeSantis previously said he won’t name a sitting member of Congress
The only other clue the governor recently has dropped has been that he won’t pick a sitting U.S. House member, pointing to the slim majority Republicans hold in the U.S. House.
“I’ve been honest with the congress people … that’s a big concern of mine,” DeSantis said Monday. “You’ve got to be part of the team and you’ve got to help deliver” on Trump’s policies. That was at the press conference in which he announced a special legislative session on immigration and other matters.
“But if you put someone there and it reduces the numbers in the House it may make it harder for them to enact an agenda.” DeSantis also has said, for instance, he wants to pick someone who will carry out Trump’s hardline immigration policies in the Senate.
This story contains previously published material. Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL.
