Desantis’ Political Future Widens As Trump Dangles Defense Chief Job

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Nearly a year ago, the political future of Ron DeSantis appeared to be buried in the snow alongside the highways of Iowa he had spent weeks criss-crossing, ahead of a second-place thumping at the hands of Donald Trump in that state’s crucial caucuses.

Now, Trump’s trip back to the White House is helping revitalize DeSantis’ fortune, giving him an opportunity to further cement his legacy in Florida — or even hand the governor a prestigious spot in his administration running the Pentagon. Either path could put him in a place for another run for president in 2028, which the governor’s allies have said repeatedly he is interested in.

Trump’s earlier picks for his administration have given DeSantis the opportunity for a legacy-defining pick to fill the Senate seat soon being vacated by Marco Rubio, which would let DeSantis further leave his mark on the state. But there may be an even greater prize; the president-elect has been considering offering DeSantis the position of Defense secretary if his current pick, Pete Hegseth, is unable to overcome opposition to his nomination that has built up in the Senate as allegations against him have spilled into view.

POLITICO interviewed 16 Republican lobbyists, elected officials and political consultants tied to both Trump and DeSantis about the possibility of the swap, many of whom were granted anonymity to talk freely. Many DeSantis allies see the Defense secretary job as being attractive to DeSantis, giving him the keys to run the world’s most powerful bureaucracy — and just as important, will keep him in the spotlight ahead of any potential future presidential run.

“It’s a win-win situation,” said DeSantis donor Robert Salvador. “DeSantis is very aligned with Trump and his policies around rebuilding the military, removing woke from the military, and securing the border.”

But some close to the two men think there are still pitfalls. Four people familiar with the situation said they believed that the pick to just outright elevate the governor appeared imminent, until news about DeSantis got out on Tuesday night.

When asked about the situation, Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump transition and a veteran Florida political operative, would only say “we have a nominee” for Defense secretary.

DeSantis hasn’t publicly weighed in since news broke, but many close to the governor are excited about the opportunity. Salvador, the donor, called DeSantis an “ideal fit” for the job, citing his work dispatching the Florida state guard to the border and sending planes to rescue Americans in Israel after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

“It’s going to be important for DeSantis to stay in the news cycle after he's no longer the governor in January of 2027,” Salvador said. “This brings him well into the spotlight with Trump and the Trump administration, which, in my opinion, would keep DeSantis as a top three candidate and a top three Republican leader for years to come.”

One longtime Florida GOP operative said DeSantis is already in the “lame-duck phase” of his governorship — he will be termed out in 2026 — and that this move “makes him more of a player.”

It’s also a landing spot for the combative governor who has repeatedly said he has no interest in the Senate, with Rubio giving up his seat to join the Trump administration as secretary of State.

“What do you do to keep yourself relevant if you’re not going to appoint yourself to the U.S. Senate? This would be the thing,” a DeSantis ally said. “Our military angered the right and others. Who better to clean up that other than a guy who has been cleaning that stuff up and comes from a military background?”

DeSantis would come to the confirmation process having already been vetted by the press and other Republican rivals when he was a 2024 presidential candidate. He’s also previewed what he would prioritize at the Pentagon, given that when he was running for president he unveiled a plan for the military that would have eliminated diversity initiatives, banned transgender service members from the military and reinstate members who’d refused a Covid vaccine.

But some DeSantis allies also think that Trump could just be floating DeSantis’ name to see how senators back in Washington react. Such a move could be orchestrated to see whether the president-elect needs to choose a new nominee out of concern that Hegseth won’t get confirmed.

At Notre Dame last month, DeSantis indicated he wasn’t angling for anything, saying he could “make the biggest difference” as governor of Florida.

DeSantis has several powerful decisions to make in the coming months. Trump has plucked at least five politicians out of Florida to fill his administration or to send to Congress, leaving DeSantis to set special election dates and appoint replacements. He already is interviewing candidates to succeed Rubio and has said he won’t make a decision until January.

Depending on who he picks — state Attorney General Ashley Moody and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez are viewed as possible contenders — he could get an opportunity to fill a spot at the top of state government. Another opening he has to appoint someone to is the job of chief financial officer of Florida, with the current CFO Jimmy Patronis likely headed to Washington after securing Trump’s endorsement in a special election to fill former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s seat. POLITICO previously reported that eight people close to the governor said he planned to install state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia into the job, which could give him the upper hand to run in 2026 against the Trump-endorsed state Sen. Joe Gruters, a longtime foe of the governor who has already announced a run.

With the various selections, there’s a broad acknowledgment that some politicians’ loyalties are more aligned with DeSantis, and others with Trump. The nominees have the power to shape Florida’s future, and the governor has shown he’s invested in preserving his legacy in the state. But even leaving for Washington could still shape his legacy: Should he resign to run the Defense Department, Núñez — a close ally of DeSantis — would become governor ahead of a potential 2026 gubernatorial contest that both Gaetz and Rep. Byron Donalds have expressed interest in.

Other political insiders are skeptical about why Trump would consider DeSantis for his administration, pointing to how Trump habitually fires staffers over social media or looks to undermine one-time rivals by floating the possibility of them joining his administration. They note the way Trump abruptly announced that former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, another 2024 primary rival, wouldn’t be invited to join his upcoming administration, and how he had dinner with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) despite not actually bringing him into the fold in 2016. DeSantis also has famously bad blood with Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff. Wiles had worked for both men, but DeSantis urged Trump to push her out of his circle in 2019. Wiles ultimately came back and successfully ran Trump’s 2024 campaign, including overseeing the DeSantis defeat strategy in the primary. And some Trump allies are chafing at the possibility of DeSantis coming aboard, POLITICO reported, pointing to how DeSantis treated Wiles.

One Florida Republican operative said DeSantis is “damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t” in regard to the secretary of Defense job. Another operative warned that DeSantis could be damaged if he turns down an offer from Trump to help the country.

Max Goodman, a Republican consultant in the southwest part of the state, said he could see how there might be mixed feelings for DeSantis about moving “from one of the most successful states in the nation” to a position in the Cabinet.

“This is Trump’s Republican Party and DeSantis is not naive to that,” he said. “To the extent he wants to play the game and build up his future, he has tough decisions on his hands — should he get the offer.”

One ally who often talks to DeSantis’ inner circle said the governor and his team also had to decide whether to trust Trump knowing that he could join the administration and then get thrown out, perhaps even in a short amount of time. The person described the scenario as DeSantis taking a risk — that he might on the one hand gain political longevity, but also that it wasn’t guaranteed given the possibility of angering Trump the way some Cabinet members did during the first term.

Another person, close to Trump, said they had a hard time picturing DeSantis as a subordinate and said the governor should be skeptical about hopping aboard.

“It could all be a Machiavellian move to kneecap him and leave him with nothing,” the person said, adding that not only would DeSantis have Trump as his boss, but he may also have to say goodbye to picking the next senator and chief financial officer.

“There is no way he accepts secretary of Defense,” the person said, “and then tells Trump to fly a kite on these other roles.”

Gary Fineout reported from Tallahassee. Kimberly Leonard reported from Miami.