Calls are circulating online for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, as the Sunshine State’s next Senator.
The push follows reports that Florida Senator Marco Rubio is expected to be announced as Trump’s Secretary of State in the coming days. Three people familiar with the matter told The New York Times, however, that Trump may change his mind at the last minute about appointing Rubio.
Alabama Senator Katie Britt, who was endorsed by Trump while running for her first term in 2022, publically called for Lara Trump to fill Rubio’s seat in an interview with Axios published Tuesday morning, saying that Lara “understands the America First agenda.”
“For me, I think she would be a tremendous pick, a voice for hard-working families and another mom of school-aged kids that understands what we’re up against, and that’s to fight to protect the American dream,” Britt said of Lara Trump.
Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna echoed support for Lara Trump in a series of posts on X, writing Tuesday that Lara “will keep the seat and avoid a messy primary for FLORIDA” in 2026.
Luna, a strong all of former President Trump in Congress, also reposted a statement from conservative political podcaster Benny Johnson, who wrote on X,”Lara Trump is the right person to fill” Rubio’s seat.
“Lara has a killer instinct for reform of broken systems,” Johnson wrote in part while explaining his support for Lara Trump. “Without her sharp leadership at the RNC, Trump would not have won the 2024 election in a landslide.”
“As a Florida resident, I know my voice would be represented in the US Senate best by Lara Trump,” Johnson added. “Judging by the number of calls I’m receiving about it–I’m not alone.”
Telsa and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also reacted to calls to put Lara Trump in the Senate, calling her “genuinely great” in a post to X. Caitlyn Jenner responded to Musk’s post, “One of the best [people] I know.”
Newsweek reached out to DeSantis’ office via email on Tuesday for comment.
Could Lara Trump Replace Senator Rubio?
DeSantis will be tasked with filling Rubio’s seat if the conservative lawmaker is pulled for Trump’s next administration. Rubio was reelected in 2022, meaning his replacement would serve the remainder of his term until 2028.
According to CBS News’ Jim DeFede, who cited conversations with “multiple Republican sources,” among those top of the list to replace Rubio includes DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, who could serve in the Senate role until 2026 until a special election can be held to fill the seat. That would give DeSantis a chance to run for the seat himself after the end of his current gubernatorial term.
Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez is also reportedly on DeSantis’ list, per DeFede’s reporting. There is also speculation that DeSantis could resign as governor to give Nunez the position, allowing her to appoint him to the open Senate seat before 2026.
DeSantis ran for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination but dropped out of the race in January. He subsequently threw his support behind President-elect Trump, who at the time was the frontrunner for the nomination.
Lara Trump’s political rise came to a head in the spring after she was selected as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, with the help of her father-in-law’s approval. GOP communications specialist T.J. McCormack told Newsweek this week that Lara may be the most “underrated political success story” in recent years.
She and her husband, Eric Trump, bought a house in Palm Beach County in southern Florida in 2021, according to the Miami Herald. She is originally from North Carolina.
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