Florida's takeover of the GOP is about to transform Washington
Donald Trump adopted Florida as his home state. Now his second administration will look to transform the country in its image.
His new administration is loaded with politicians and operatives who cut their teeth in the Sunshine State — from incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles; to Marco Rubio, the likely next secretary of State; and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general Trump tapped to lead the Justice Department after the first Floridian he picked, Matt Gaetz, withdrew.
Trump filling his team with Floridians — with Mar-a-Lago serving as his home base — shows how his second term will be different than the first: one that values loyalty above all else, casting aside the need to win over different wings of a Republican Party. And it could be an even more pugnacious administration, filled with people who learned how to throw elbows in Florida first.
“Sure, they're close to home, but Trump has known all of these people for years and they have gained his trust,” POLITICO reporter Meridith McGraw said. “For Trump, trust and loyalty are everything.”
It will all amount to a huge political — and culture — shock to Washington, when Trump and his team come crashing back into town in less than two months.
To get a sense of what’s next, POLITICO convened four reporters who have covered Trump’s political orbit, both in Florida and in Washington.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Trump has just absolutely loaded his administration up with Floridians. Is this about literal proximity to his base of operations or something more?
McGraw: First of all, let's just go through the list of Floridians Trump has tapped so far for top roles in his next administration: Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Mike Waltz, Susie Wiles, and Pam Bondi. Am I missing anyone, Gary?
Sure, they're close to home, but Trump has known all of these people for years and they have gained his trust. For Trump, trust and loyalty are everything. I was talking to a friend of Trump and Bondi's last night, and they said the president-elect wants to be able to call up his Cabinet at any time for advice (much like he does with allies now) and so having a comfortable relationship is important.
Gary Fineout: There are others who have helped out Trump who also have a Florida connection such as James Blair, who was named deputy chief of staff. And Bondi has known Trump — and stood by Trump — for a while now. Early on she backed Jeb Bush, but after he left that race in 2016 she endorsed Trump quickly. She has never wavered and never supported, say, Ron DeSantis for president.
But to me the real point here is that Florida is now ground zero for Republicans in the U.S. The counter balance to California.
McGraw: Not Texas! That's a conversation for another day, but it really feels like the real GOP center of gravity is in Florida not Texas these days.
Fineout: Well the president hasn’t been living in Texas.
What does the Florida takeover of the GOP — and soon Washington — mean? Is it just personnel or are we getting a different style of politics altogether?
Kimberly Leonard: It's both. Wiles is a longtime Florida operative who has repeatedly recruited, coached and mentored people throughout their careers. So it makes sense that — as incoming chief of staff — she would continue turning to those longstanding relationships to build a team.
Culturally, Florida is very different from most of the U.S. It's more out there, less risk averse. The news always seems replete with wild stories pouring out of our amazing state. Though Trump is obviously originally a creature of New York, he's been snowbirding here a while, and in many ways he seems to fit the definition of the quintessential Florida Man.
Mia McCarthy: These Floridians are more likely to break the status quo when it comes to old school politics. And again, they're loyal to Trump — I'd expect them to help the president carry out whatever priorities he has, even if it is against the political norm.
McGraw: I think Kimberly's spot on — Susie Wiles’ influence is all over some of these picks. Wiles has gained a loyal following of operatives and politicians in Florida who have worked for her or worked with her.
It feels like this will be a bigger shift than Washington is prepared for, because Florida’s power is different in Congress, right?
McCarthy: Totally. What is somewhat ironic to me is that Florida has failed to hold onto power in Washington otherwise until this point. In Congress, they don't have any major gavels or top leadership positions. That’s pretty weird for the second-largest Republican House delegation. (20 members!)
There have been unsuccessful attempts to rise in Congress — Rick Scott, a close ally of Trump, just ran to be Senate leader but was voted out in the first round the same day that Rep. Kat Cammack lost a bid for one of the top Republican positions in the House.
But also, a lot of Floridians have had their eyes elsewhere. Many Florida Republicans are hoping for a Trump admin job or Florida governor's mansion, rather than working through the ranks of Congress.
Leonard: Trump has been president before, so they somewhat know what they're in for, but this time he does seem to be — to borrow a phrase — "unburdened by what has been."
Some of the folks he's picking to fill his administration are going to be hard to confirm, and they're far from the more traditional wing of the party. A couple even used to be Democrats.
We definitely saw with the Matt Gaetz pullout that the Senate at least is going to wield its power at times. There are also institutional systems and special interests in Washington that aren't just going to stand by and let major overhauls happen to their areas, such as health care.
There's one very important Floridian we’ve barely mentioned: Ron DeSantis. He ran against Trump and things got ... chippy. Has he repaired that relationship?
Fineout: DeSantis ran against Trump and then quickly endorsed him after he got out of the race. And while he did raise money for the president, he did not really do any campaign events for him and instead he put his effort into defeating two amendments on the ballot in Florida.
There still appears to be a bit of distance between the two — and of course Wiles had a very public falling out with DeSantis, and there has been nothing to suggest it's been patched up. It's been interesting, however, to see Trump campaign and advocate for policies that are similar to ones that have already been tried in Florida. But for right now it appears DeSantis is going to remain a bit on the outside.
McGraw: I was interested to learn back in early September that Trump and DeSantis played golf together — oh to be a fly on that golf cart! The relationship between the two is not openly hostile as it once was, but I do think that whoever DeSantis picks to replace Rubio will send a message about how aligned he wants to be with Trump.
Leonard: Donors I talk to are split on what they think DeSantis needs to do moving forward. Some say they think he has enough cachet on his own to assert the DeSantis vision for Florida and for shaping the Republican Party, given that he did just defeat amendments on pot and abortion rights that otherwise tended to be broadly popular.
Others tell me they think he should play especially nice with Trump and try to extend an olive branch wherever possible. A clear opportunity to do so might be with appointing a Trump loyalist to Rubio's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.
But does DeSantis really need to do that to guarantee his spot in the party? After all, he did rise to fame in the party when Trump was out of office. He does seem to have a pulse on the electorate, he's still young and he still has two years left as governor to make a splash.
The Cabinet is mostly filled, but there’s still thousands of other positions across the administration. Any more names you hear might also be making the trip north?
McCarthy: Many see Florida as the GOP powerhouse Republicans want to take nationally. Can’t tell you how many Florida Republicans said “Make America Florida” to me in the past year. I think this is just the start.
Fineout: There are several others who I would keep an eye on, whether it's long-time Wiles ally and sometimes DeSantis opponent state Sen. Joe Gruters — or heck even, say, Chris Kise, a former solicitor general in Florida who was part of Trump's legal team.
I have also wondered about Carlos Muñiz. He's currently on the Florida Supreme Court but he worked in the first Trump administration for Betsy DeVos.
Leonard: I've been likening our state to a staffing agency. It has a deep bench of Republicans who are eager to go to Washington to be a part of the MAGA movement. Readers can probably put together a great Bingo card on the list we assembled before.