Congressional Republicans were excited about the prospect of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapping Lara Trump to be the state’s next senator, but now that she’s removed her name from consideration, members say DeSantis hasn’t asked for their input on who else could fill the role.
DeSantis’ distant relationships on the Hill aren’t a new phenomenon — Florida lawmakers have long said he rarely calls them up — but as his place in Trump’s world remains unclear, his Senate pick could give him an important ally.
There’s no love lost between DeSantis and one of Trump’s closest advisers, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who advised DeSantis’ gubernatorial race before an ugly public rift. Picking someone in Trump’s orbit could help patch things up.
Florida Rep. Brian Mast said Tuesday he was rooting for DeSantis to pick a Trump to replace Sen. Marco Rubio — who will likely be confirmed as secretary of state this month.
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“What about Eric Trump?” Mast told NOTUS Tuesday, adding that DeSantis should still look in the “first family first.”
But it’s not advice he’s given to DeSantis directly. When asked if he’d gotten a call from the governor recently, he responded: “No, not a one.”
The pending nomination comes as DeSantis faces the end of his own political power when he’s term-limited out of the governor’s mansion in 2026. And if he’s even thinking about another presidential run in 2028, he’d need the support of a Republican Party firmly in the grasp of Donald Trump. But he hasn’t been doing the kind of outreach that might require.
“He’s probably getting a lot of input and advice from all kinds of people. He doesn’t need me clogging that up,” Rep. Byron Donalds told NOTUS about his lack of phone call. “I trust the governor and his judgment.”
“DeSantis — and I know him very well — is putting great thought into that decision,” Northeast Florida Rep. Aaron Bean told NOTUS. But he, too, hasn’t spoken with the governor directly about it, instead passing on his views to the governor via “mutual friends.”
Bean sees Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody as the current front-runner, as Politico has also reported. “I couldn’t be more pleased with her as a choice, hopefully that’ll work.”
Rep. John Rutherford had a unique piece of praise for Moody Tuesday.
“When you call her, she calls you back quickly, and she gets it done. That’s what I always loved about her — she was incredibly responsive,” he told NOTUS. “That’s a big deal. I appreciate that because I think it shows somebody that’s got servant leadership in mind, as opposed to ‘I’m not going to bother calling,’ that kind of stuff.”
But when NOTUS asked if DeSantis called him to get that perspective, Rutherford shook his head.
For his part, in November, DeSantis promised “extensive vetting” of potential Senate candidates and that a decision would “likely be made by the beginning of January.”
He reiterated that on Tuesday, telling reporters at a press conference in Tampa, “We’ve done a lot of research on candidates. I think we’ve got a lot of great people in Florida who’ve made a big difference,” but it’s still an open question. “I have not decided.”
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Claire Heddles is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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