Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is being reported as looking for his next move after his term ends in January, with six insiders telling Axios that he has been seeking either a job in President Donald Trump’s administration or a spot on the Supreme Court. Trump has also told confidants that DeSantis has been angling for posts including attorney general and defense secretary.
Trump and DeSantis met over lunch on April 12 at the president’s National Doral Golf Club in Miami, and the report says DeSantis made his pitch there. Trump later told one confidant, according to an Axios source, that “Ron was begging me to be AG.” Another insider said there was a conversation at the lunch but that attorney general was not a real possibility. A source familiar with the discussions said DeSantis was “100 percent 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.”
The reported outreach comes after months of political whiplash between the two Republicans, who went from close allies to rivals in the 2024 GOP primary before DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump. Trump’s relationship with DeSantis dates to 2018, when a Trump endorsement helped the then-congressman win the GOP primary and the governor’s mansion.
Axios said the talks became more serious after Trump fired former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March and former Attorney General Pam Bondi this month. That timing is why the reported job hunt matters now: DeSantis is heading toward life after the governor’s office, while Trump’s cabinet still has openings and the Supreme Court remains in the political conversation. Republicans have also been quietly urging the 76-year-old Samuel Alito to step aside from the high court ahead of what they expect to be a rough midterm cycle.
DeSantis’s office did not deny that he pitched himself for top jobs when asked about the report. Spokesman Alex Lanfranconi said, “Governor DeSantis enjoys a great relationship with President Trump.” He added that DeSantis looks forward to continuing to work with Trump on enforcing immigration laws, restoring the Everglades and helping to reform college athletics, while dismissing the swirl as “fake rumors” that distract from the two men’s record together. What happens next now depends less on public loyalty than on whether Trump sees DeSantis as useful in a cabinet room, on the bench, or nowhere at all.
