Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis were once close allies.
Their relationship broke when DeSantis challenged Trump for the GOP nomination.
But now Donald Trump made Ron DeSantis one offer that no one saw coming.
A trade in the making
Donald Trump is reportedly seriously considering nominating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as Secretary of Defense if the Swamp succeeds in tanking Peter Hegseth’s nomination over baseless allegations from anonymous sources.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report these rumors.
Florida-based reporter Marc Caputo – who is well-sourced in Trump World – confirmed in The Bulwark that these are serious discussions.
“These discussions are real. It’s serious. I can’t say it’s definitely going to happen, but the governor is receptive and Trump is serious, too,” a GOP insider told Caputo.
A key piece of the puzzle is Lara Trump.
Governor DeSantis has the power to fill the Senate vacancy created by Marco Rubio’s nomination to serve as Secretary of State.
Trump’s allies want DeSantis to name Lara Trump to the position.
And DeSantis emerging as Donald Trump’s fallback position as Secretary of Defense could depend on DeSantis naming Lara Trump to serve out of the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
“Initially, Lara Trump was not part of all of this,” the Republican source also told Caputo. “But there’s no way it could have been avoided.”
Lara Trump as an incumbent Senator would almost certainly clear the Primary field and allow her to focus on the general election.
But this all depends on Hegseth’s nomination.
Some in Trump’s orbit don’t think Hegseth can survive the smear campaign.
“I’m not sure what Pete is going to say, but right now he looks like a goner,” a Trump advisor told Caputo. “Trump talking to DeSantis while this is all going on is a sure sign that Trump doesn’t think Pete is gonna make it.”
Trump reportedly likes DeSantis’ commitment to driving a stake through the heart of woke ideology as firing woke generals and eliminating military DEI programs is right at the top of the agenda for Trump’s Defense Secretary.
“WHAT TRUMP LIKES ABOUT DESANTIS, according to one of the insiders briefed on the president-elect’s thinking, is that the governor has an uncompromising, no-nonsense approach to conservative governance. Not only is DeSantis a leader in ‘anti-woke’ policy that Trump wants replicated in the Pentagon, he believes the governor can help root out waste in the department’s notoriously profligate budget,” Caputo reported.
Some in DeSantis’ orbit resent the idea of the governor naming Lara Trump to the Senate.
“She hasn’t paid her dues in the state. If she wants to become a senator, she can run for it in two years,” a DeSantis advisor related to Caputo.
But conservatives well connected in Florida politics think DeSantis as Secretary of Defense and Lara Trump in the Senate is a live ball right now.
“There’s a TON of moving pieces to these DeSantis/Trump rumors but one thing I’m being consistently told by a lot of people smarter than me is they’re probably true We could see a world where the Gov heads to this administration and Lara Trump to Senate,” Florida’s Voice founder Brendon Leslie wrote on X.