DeSantis Says Vetting Is Underway To Find Rubio Successor

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that vetting is underway to find a replacement for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has been picked to become President-elect Donald Trump‘s secretary of state, with a goal to appoint this replacement by early next year.

In a post to X, DeSantis said Rubio is “expected” to resign from the Senate when Trump’s second term begins on January 20, which he noted would create a vacancy two months from now. The governor then shared details on what is being done to find Rubio’s successor, who would keep the seat until 2026, when a special election would be held for the final two years of the senator’s term.

“We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting,” DeSantis said. “More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January.”

He added: “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.”

President-elect Trump announced last week that he would nominate Rubio, a GOP rival from the 2016 presidential race who came around to support Trump, for the secretary of state position. Normally, a candidate for such a position would have to pass through a Senate confirmation process, but Trump has indicated that he wants to use recess appointments to install his Cabinet members.

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“Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me,” Rubio said in a post to X. “As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else.  I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20.”

Other politicians Trump has so far chosen to join his administration who hail from Florida include now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for attorney general and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) for national security adviser.