Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he will “have somebody ready to go” to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy created by Marco Rubio. Given the slim GOP U.S. House majority, he suggested the appointee should come from outside of Congress.
Rubio is expected to resign when President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Rubio is Trump’s pick to serve as secretary of state.
“Well, we’re obviously, we’re going to make an appointment very soon,” DeSantis told reporters during a Monday morning press conference at the Capitol.
“I anticipate a vacancy occurring in the afternoon of the 20th or no later than the 21st, so we’ll have somebody ready to go on that,” DeSantis said.
Attorney General Ashley Moody has been rumored to be on a shortlist of potential appointees, although last week the governor said he will not be “refereeing any ‘who’s in, who’s out’” conversations.
Monday, DeSantis said elevating a Floridian from the U.S. House might not be the best strategy to maintain GOP strength in Washington.
Voters elected 220 Republican representatives during the 2024 elections, although the five-person majority potentially slims to two with former Rep. Matt Gaetz not taking office and others leaving for other offers, including Rep. Mike Waltz leaving to serve as national security adviser. Taking away from the House could give Democrats a chance to control the chamber, DeSantis said.
U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida. (U.S. House) Cory Mills. (U.S. House)
“We’ve talked to a lot of good people. We’ve got a lot of, I think, credible candidates, and some good candidates,” DeSantis said, confirming that he’s spoken with Rep. Kat Cammack and Rep. Cory Mills recently.
“I’ve been honest with the congresspeople, that’s a big concern of mine, because one of the criteria I had with who I’m going to appoint is, we just had an election. President has a mandate. I want you to help facilitate that. I don’t want you to be sand in the gears,” DeSantis said. “… But if you put someone there, and then it reduces the numbers in the House, and they make it harder for them to be able to enact an agenda.”
DeSantis said Cammack is a “fighter. She’s really really good, really strong, I think she’s got a great record.”
Mills has said he will run for the Senate seat when it is up for election in two years, Politico reported.
Mills took to social media after the news conference, saying he understands DeSantis’ “concerns regarding the U.S. House slim majority.”
“While I feel I would add value and be better positioned to help [Trump’s] American First agenda, we will have to see what the Governor decides,” Mills posted. “Either way, it’s an honor to be considered for the Senate and appreciated the positive feedback the Governor gave after our interview.”
Florida law currently requires anyone running for a new office to submit an irrevocable letter of resignation ahead of qualifying if the terms of the two offices overlap.
DeSantis on Monday criticized Florida’s resign-to-run laws, saying they prevent congressional and legislative special elections from happening on the same day because of the timeline requirements in statutes. DeSantis is charged with setting the special election date after consulting with the secretary of state.
“Incidentally, on this resign to run, I think it’s a ridiculous thing the way it’s worked out in Florida. I mean, the idea is, I think, that they want you to focus on the job you got elected to, and then not run for anything else while you’re supposedly being … ,” DeSantis trailed off. “The problem is, you don’t actually resign until the election’s over anyways.”
State Sen. Randy Fine and state Rep. Joel Rudman are among those campaigning for the two spots available in the U.S. House left by Waltz and Gaetz.
DeSantis said he wanted to schedule the legislative and congressional special elections on the same day, but existing law does not allow enough time for candidates to qualify.
Fine and Rudman are required to resign from their Legislature posts, although the law allows both to delay their departure until the day before the April 1 election.
Rudman made his resignation effective Jan. 1, while Fine will not leave the Senate until March 31.
“So, if you were going to do resign to run, you would say you resign the minute you announce your candidacy, which is not what they’ve done,” DeSantis said. “So I think they should just chuck the whole thing. I think it’s been more expensive for the state as a result of having to do the resign to run. It just hasn’t worked. But at a minimum, if you’re going to do it, the resignation, you would want it to be effective prior to the campaigning.”
The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the governor for not calling special elections for the open legislative seats.
The Legislature in 2023 changed Florida’s resign to run laws so DeSantis could make a presidential run and would not have to resign his job as governor had he become the GOP candidate.