President-elect Donald Trump has supposedly considered tapping Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for Secretary of Defense if current appointee, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, is withdrawn. Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) expressed opposition to the idea of nominating Gov. DeSantis to lead the Department of Defense, telling The Floridian that he didn’t think he was a good fit because DeSantis could start “clawing back a lot of these programs that have helped us get there.”
“ I just don’t think DeSantis is good for that position,” said Rep. Frost, adding that programs like DEI have made the U.S. military the “greatest fighting force in the history of the world.”
“We have the greatest fighting force in the history of the world and clawing back a lot of these programs that have helped us get there is not it's not the right thing,” said Rep. Frost when asked if it was a disqualifier for DeSantis to have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in Florida.
The sophomore congressman continued, adding that military service alone does not qualify DeSantis to lead the military.
“Serving can be part of it, and oftentimes it is, but it is not the only thing, and I just do not think DeSantis is good for that position. We are talking about the guy who asked the [Florida] legislature to give him his own private little militia. I do not feel comfortable with him being in charge of the defense position,” added Frost.
The Florida Congressman referred to the State Guard launched by Gov. DeSantis in 2022, which was designed to bolster the National Guard. Democrats derided the formation as "brownshirts" or "stormtroopers," referencing the Sturmabteilung (SA, "stormtroopers") in early Nazi Germany.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried recently said DeSantis as Defense Secretary would put the nation in "grave danger."
DeSantis donor Robert Salvador disagrees, and believes the Florida governor would be perfect for the job.
“It’s a win-win situation,” said Salvador in a statement to POLITICO. “DeSantis is very aligned with Trump and his policies around rebuilding the military, removing woke from the military, and securing the border.”
Regarding the current appointee, Hegseth, Rep. Frost said he was "very aware of the things related to sexual assault and all that. As far as the qualifications, I going to need to look into them a little bit more. I know the main headlines use "Fox News host," but I know before that, he did work, so I need to look into him a little bit more."
We asked who Rep. Frost thought would be a good replacement for Hegseth in the event he is withdrawn from consideration, to which he replied that he is "not expecting them to put the progressive bastion of liberalism in [the position], but there are a lot of ideologically aligned conservative people who actually have real experience in national security."
Publisher Javier Manjarres contributed to this article
