Ron DeSantis Picks Marco Rubio Replacement

This week, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) had his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State, and based on the videos I saw, he will coast through the confirmation vote.

That will leave his seat open, and Governor Ron DeSantis has finally revealed his pick.

Lara Trump in the Mix

When Rubio was announced as the nominee, Lara Trump, the wife of Donald Trump’s son Eric, immediately tossed her name into the hat.

She touted her time at the RNC, which was only a few months, and said how much she was interested in public service.

Donald Trump immediately threw his support behind her, as did Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), who stated, “[Lara] "did a great job with the RNC. She's great spokesperson. She's conservative."

The overall reception, however, was not as warm as everyone expected. There was also the fact that it would be DeSantis making this pick, and there is clearly still some friction between DeSantis and Trump for the attacks by the Trump team during the election.

I’m Out

As time passed, it seemed pretty clear that DeSantis was not going to cave to pressure and he would put his person in the Senate, not Trump’s.

This led to Trump stating, “I probably don’t (expect it), but I don’t know. Ron’s doing a good job and it’s his choice. Nothing to do with me.”

Rather than have someone else picked over her, Lara saw the writing on the wall and took herself out of contention, stating, “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate.”

She then announced that she had something else cooking and would make the announcement in January, likely right after Trump’s inauguration, so as not to steal her father-in-law’s thunder.

DeSantis Reveals His Pick

The wait is over and I am very happy to say that DeSantis has announced that Attorney General Ashley Moody will be his pick to fill that seat.

He stated, "So this is something that I thought about long and hard. We did a lot of research. We got a number of great candidates throughout the state of Florida, and many of them, I think, could have done a good job. But the final criteria I used was because you can say all those things and say you stand for it — I wanted somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results on those important issues. Talk is cheap.

"We need people that have demonstrated fidelity to these principles with their actions. So that is why today I'm proud to announce that I am selecting our Attorney General, Ashley Moody, to serve as our next U.S. senator.”

I am truly sorry that Florida is losing a fierce and outstanding AG, but the American people are getting what I believe will be an amazing conservative Senator to represent Florida. In the end, DeSantis made the right move, and I think Moody will prove him right for many years to come. This, however, does appear to put my theory about DeSantis having someone keep that seat warm for him to bed, but that will be cleared up in the 2026 cycle.