Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent the last year rebuilding his relationship with President Donald Trump after their fallout during the 2024 Republican presidential campaign.
The rebuilt political alliance may be about to pay off in a big way.
Trump confirmed Friday that he is considering bringing DeSantis into his White House cabinet soon — a stunning potential comeback for a man Trump once called “Ron DeSanctimonious” during one of the most bitter Republican primary battles in recent memory.
“Well, I like him a lot. Nobody’s asked me that question, but I like him a lot,” Trump said when asked about a possible cabinet appointment for DeSantis.
The remarks come on the heels of a bombshell Axios report that revealed that Trump has told confidants DeSantis is “begging” to be the U.S. Attorney General. DeSantis has also reportedly expressed interest in being Secretary of War, or even getting a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Ron was begging me to be AG,” Trump reportedly said during a lunch at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami.
DeSantis’ spokesperson Alex Lanfranconi pushed back on the rumors.
“Some in the media prefer to focus on fake rumors rather than the many accomplishments of Florida’s partnership with the Trump administration,” he said.
But DeSantis hasn’t exactly been coy about his White House ambitions. In a recent interview, he said he was “a service-oriented person” who would “never rule anything out.”
Insiders have also whispered openly about DeSantis’ interest in joining Trump’s White House.
“DeSantis is 100% not interested in the AG job, but he would be interested in two things: War secretary or Supreme Court, which would be his dream job,” one source told Axios.
The timing is right. Trump’s cabinet has been in flux —Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer have all been ousted, leaving real vacancies to fill.
DeSantis is term-limited in Florida and will leave the governor’s mansion in January 2027. The nomination to a cabinet position could come after… or even sooner.
Since the 2024 presidential campaign, DeSantis has spent his time making himself indispensable to Trump. He enforced the illegal immigration crackdown harder than nearly any other governor, built “Alligator Alcatraz” — a detention facility for illegals in the Florida Everglades — and this week championed an aggressively redrawn congressional map through the Florida legislature that could hand Republicans four additional House seats in the midterms.
The praise from Trump world has followed. Longtime Trump legal adviser Mike Davis posted on X after the redistricting win: “Once again, America’s best governor delivers. And fast.”
Trump himself rated DeSantis “a 10 out of 10, maybe 9.9” at the opening of the Everglades detention facility last July.
Whether Trump ultimately calls on DeSantis to join him in Washington, D.C. remains to be seen.
But after everything DeSantis has delivered, the door has never been more open.