Gov. Ron DeSantis never had to say whether or not he wanted to endorse former Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump for Senate.
On Saturday, she said she no longer was interested in the appointment to replace Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio.
“After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate,” Trump posted to X, going on to “wish Governor DeSantis the best of luck with this appointment.”
Lara Trump’s disavowal of previous interest in the job, which DeSantis is expected to fill in the coming weeks, comes after President-elect Donald Trump downplayed the possibility of her appointment.
“I probably don’t (expect it), but I don’t know. Ron’s doing a good job and it’s his choice. Nothing to do with me,” President-elect Trump told reporters in Palm Beach on Monday.
Elected as RNC co-chair in March, Lara Trump was a key player in the GOP retaking the White House and control of the Senate, while maintaining a narrow House majority. What she does next could shape Republican politics, given her elevated political profile and her ties to the incoming president
She previously insisted she would be “honored” to serve and would “love” to be Senator, noting that she’d lived in Florida for the last three and a half years as proof that she knows the state, and crediting DeSantis with her being in Florida to begin with.
The idea of placing a Trump family member in the Senate had been backed by some Republicans, including Maye Musk, mother of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who Trump has named co-head of a group tasked with reduce federal spending and regulations during his second term as President.
With the President-elect’s daughter-in-law no longer an option, speculation returns to familiar quantities in Florida. These include First Lady Casey DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, DeSantis’ Chief of Staff James Uthmeier, former House Speaker Jose Oliva, and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez, among others.
DeSantis has said that Floridians are likely to know their next Senator by the beginning of January.
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