Americans will be in "grave danger" if Gov. Ron DeSantis becomes the next Secretary of Defense, Florida Democrats claimed Wednesday morning.
Party Chair Nikki Fried released her statement hours after the Wall Street Journal reported that President-elect Donald Trump may nominate DeSantis to the Department of Defense post instead of his current nominee Pete Hegseth, who's facing a salacious storm of sex and alcohol allegations.
“This is the most dangerous potential appointment yet because we know what he might do as secretary—there have been clear warning signs in Florida already," Fried said. "As governor, he has shown he is willing to violate the Constitution...He tried to build his own army, kidnapped migrants, and sent the Florida National Guard to the Texas border—and now Donald Trump wants to give this person the authority to lead the most powerful military in the world.
"Hell no," continued Fried, the last Democrat to have won statewide office in 2018. "The Florida Democratic Party stands ready to warn the rest of the nation—and the world—what is at risk if the situation goes from bad to worse, and the Trump transition team decides to replace serial abuser Pete Hegseth with Ron DeSantis."
The news that Trump was considering DeSantis as a replacement to Hegseth broke late last night, where outlets like Politico, the Wall Street Journal, and the Bulwark all cited a series of sources who confirmed that Trump spoke to DeSantis about coming on board his administration.
The news surprised many, including sources close to Trump, considering the conservative powerhouses engaged in a viciously bitter presidential primary. This included Trump taking shots at DeSantis' personality and the Florida Governor snarkily commenting on the former and future president's sex scandal, though the two have since smoothed out relations after DeSantis launched a state-level investigation into an assassination attempt on Trump in Palm Beach.
Neither Trump nor DeSantis has publicly commented on the possible Department of Defense shake-up. Hegseth, for his part, traversed Capitol Hill Wednesday to continue to meet with Senators ahead of his confirmation hearing—which, considering news has leaked that Trump may be looking at other options, shows that the president-elect may fear he's as unconfirmable as former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who backed out of being Attorney General after rumors of his own sex scandals overshadowed his nomination.
After a meeting with future GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune, however, Hegseth told reporters, "I spoke to the president this morning. He supports me fully. We're not going anywhere."
But what happens to Florida if Trump does nominate DeSantis? Assuming the Governor accepts the nomination, Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez would become the next governor and someone would have to be appointed to fill the Lieutenant Governor spot. That would mean appointments for Lieutenant Governor, U.S. Senate, and Chief Financial Officer would all be necessary, likely before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
This story is developing...
