Florida's outgoing Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, delivered a resounding endorsement of Trump ally Sen. Joe Gruters for his post Wednesday morning.
Patronis, who will resign his seat in March to run for Congress, posted his "full" endorsement of Gruters on social media to urge Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint the Florida Senator to the CFO role—even though Gruters and DeSantis have feuded in the past.
"I fully endorse @JoeGruters as my replacement for CFO," Patronis posted to X, listing Gruters' help with everything from consumer protection initiatives to storm recovery to telemarketing. "Most importantly, he’s a CPA, so he’s going to protect taxpayer dollars from fraud, waste, and abuse.
"His Conservative credentials are tried and true—a former head of RPOF, Trump-backed Republican," Patronis continued. "I want to see this office continue its progress in supporting Florida’s economy, putting policyholders first, and supporting our firefighters. Joe’s the right man for the job!"
Patronis' endorsement comes weeks after Donald Trump urged him to run for Matt Gaetz's newly vacant congressional seat, writing a "RUN, JIMMY, RUN!" call to action on the conservative platform Truth Social. Patronis quickly accepted and tendered his resignation for CFO effective Mar. 31, one day before the special general election for CD 1, kicking down the next government domino: who will take Patronis' spot?
The MAGA choice is Gruters, who scored the coveted Trump endorsement in March to run for the seat in 2026. Now that it's open early, Gruters declared that he will try to score the post no matter what—whether by appointment or by running in two years—he will not give up.
But what will DeSantis do?
The Governor has remained silent on the position, likely due to his past tiffs with former GOP Chair Gruters. A strong Trump ally from the beginning, Gruters was one of the few Republican state lawmakers who not only endorsed Trump over DeSantis in the presidential primary but publicly talked about the Governor's issues with likeability. During the past election cycle, Gruters drew the ire of team DeSantis by bannering an amendment to legalize recreational weed. DeSantis hated the now-failed measure, and his team accused Gruters of being paid off by the weed industry.
Regardless of whom he chooses, it is DeSantis' job to appoint someone to the soon-to-be-vacant CFO position. He must also appoint someone to U.S. Senator and call special elections for a state House and state Senate seat as part of the shuffled around, legislative musical chairs kicked off by Trump's Florida-heavy cabinet picks.
He is expected to announce the next CFO before mid-January.
