President Donald Trump has said he doesn’t believe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will name his daughter-in-law as Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) replacement in the U.S. Senate.
Lara Trump, who recently resigned as Republican National Committee co-chair, has been a favorite to succeed Rubio in the Senate.
Trump last month announced that he would nominate Rubio to serve as secretary of state in his incoming administration.
Rubio, the three-term senator from Florida and a senior Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, will be vacating his Senate seat two years early.
Many have been expecting Gov. DeSantis to name Lara Trump as Rubio’s replacement.
However, President Trump says he doesn’t expect that will happen.
During a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump was asked if he expects his daughter-in-law to be picked by DeSantis.
“No, I don’t. I probably don’t. But I don’t know,” Trump said Monday.
“Ron’s doing a good job. That’s his choice – nothing to do with me.”
DeSantis has said he’ll make a decision on the Rubio Senate replacement by early next month.
On Monday, Trump praised his daughter-in-law, saying:
“Lara’s unbelievable. She was incredible.
“The job she did at the RNC…. she is so highly respected.”
And he added that Lara Trump is highly sought after following her success at the RNC.
“I also know that Lara got so many other things,” Trump said.
“I mean she’s got so many other things.
“People want her to be on television.
“They want to give her contracts.
“She’s got so many other things that she’s talking about.”
Trump also praised Rubio but added:
“He leaves a vacancy in Florida and Ron’s going to have to make that decision.
“And he’ll make the right decision.”
Trump reportedly told DeSantis that he would like to see his daughter-in-law succeed Rubio.
However, Republicans believe that DeSantis is more likely to name someone who’s held public office in Florida.
As Slay News has reported, Lara Trump has said she would “seriously consider” serving Florida in the Senate.
DeSantis, a one-time Trump ally, clashed with the president-elect last year and early this year during a very contentious 2024 GOP presidential nomination race.
However, the governor has gone some way to mending relations with Trump after the primary season.
DeSantis endorsed Trump and helped raise money for the then-Republican nominee’s general election campaign in the run-up to November 5.
“Florida deserves a senator who will help President Trump deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of results,” DeSantis said last month.
He noted at the time that “we have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting.
“More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January.”
The formal confirmation process for Rubio by his fellow senators won’t kick off until after Trump is sworn into office on January 20.
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