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    • Replacement for Rubio in the Senate in January
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    Replacement for Rubio in the Senate in January

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    Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that a replacement for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as secretary of state, likely won’t be named until early January.

    This move gives DeSantis time to consider a broader range of candidates.

    “We have already received strong interest from several potential candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting,” DeSantis wrote on X. “More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted in the coming weeks held, with a selection likely to take place in early January.”

    Trump will not take office until January 20 and the timing of Rubio’s Senate confirmation is unknown.

    Rubio will not be eligible for re-election to the Senate until 2028. Under state and federal law, DeSantis can appoint his replacement for two years, after which a special election will be held for the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.

    Early candidates for the spot included DeSantis loyalists such as Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva and DeSantis chief of staff James Uthmeier.

    But Uthmeier is now eyeing the vacant Congressional District 1 seat in the Panhandle following the resignation of Matt Gaetz, a source familiar with the matter told USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida.

    Trump has nominated Gaetz as US attorney general. Despite some doubt whether Gaetz, who has had an antagonistic relationship with centrist Republicans, would be confirmed, the seat is already open because Gaetz resigned from Congress last week, days before the release of a potentially damaging report from a House Ethics investigation .

    Another name closer to Trump has also been suggested: Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. She is the wife of Trump’s son Eric and lives in Palm Beach County. She was co-chair of the Republican National Committee but grew up in North Carolina.

    DeSantis typically doesn’t rush to fill open positions

    The governor has often taken ample time to review candidate information and conduct interviews before making key appointments.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, he left Florida Supreme Court seats open past deadlines in state law — which he could ignore because of the pandemic emergency — before filling them.

    “Florida deserves a senator who will help President Trump deliver on his electoral mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s budget decline, inspire is guided by conservative principles and has a proven track record. of results,” DeSantis wrote in his post.

    The appointments of Rubio, Gaetz and another member of Florida’s congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, who was selected as National Security Advisor, have roiled the Sunshine State’s politics and could lead to a domino effect if politicians insist on filling the open seats.

    DeSantis must call a special election to fill the seats vacated by Gaetz and Waltz and has said he will do so as soon as possible.

    Republicans hold a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and quickly filling those seats, which lean heavily on the Republican Party, will advance Trump’s legislative agenda early in his term.

    Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.

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