President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing in will take place this month. In preparation, he has filled influential positions in his cabinet with several Florida Republicans. Political watchers believe that’s a positive for residents here in the Sunshine State.
Floridians have been tapped to be Trump’s chief of staff, Attorney General, Secretary of State, National Security advisor and Center for Disease Control head.
For Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power, that’s a sign of his party’s political dominance.
“Florida has really become the conservative beacon of freedom. We have a lot of talented individuals who have governed, and we've had a lot of big wins here in Florida. So, it makes a lot of sense that President Trump is going to elevate those people who have had success on a conservative level, and you see them going to the national level to fix the country like they fix Florida,” he said.
The state’s government has been at the center of national headlines for championing culture war legislation like banning transgender athletes from sports and targeting diversity equity and inclusion initiatives.
Steve Schale, a Florida Democrat political consultant who worked for the Obama administration, doesn’t buy that the country is going to become like Florida because of those appointments. However, he does believe those appointments are good for Floridians because it means the people who have Trump’s ear will understand issues important to Florida.
“Folks tend to bring the perspective of where they come from when they go to Washington, and so, you know, just understanding what issues are important to Florida, understanding the kind of the vibe of things, understanding what the challenges are,” he said.
To Susan MacManus, Political Science Professor Emeritus from the University of South Florida, one of those issues will be healthcare. Florida’s older and still aging population means more investment in medical infrastructure is needed in the state. She hopes those from Florida in Trump’s administration will communicate those needs.
“Florida has a very large portion of our economy now that is medically focused, whether it's the production of medical equipment and technology to the universities and the hospital systems doing back-breaking research, and, of course, the public themselves complaining about the insurance part of the health care,” she said.
One of the most prominent Trump appointments from Florida is Senator Marco Rubio, who was tapped for the Secretary of State job. A child of Cuban expats, he has been a staunch anti-communist in Congress.
Schale believes for Florida, Rubio’s place in the administration means far more than politics. He argues Rubio will be a strong international business advocate for many industries in Florida that rely on relationships with South American countries.
“Having a chief diplomat who understands how important that is to Florida's economy, that's just as important as the political sort of messaging he brings. You know, if you're if you're a Miami business, and, you know, in that relationship with Brazil is important, you know, having a Secretary of State who gets that, you know, is really important,” he said.
But Rubio’s influence on the administration’s political messaging could still be impactful in growing his party’s lead in Florida and other states. MacManus believes Rubio and other South Florida Republican’s rhetoric about anti-communism targeted to Cuban and Venezuelan ex-pats and their children is part of the reason Miami-Dade voted Republican in 2024.
“You can't take broad categories of voters like let's take Latinos or Asians or women and say that they are cohesive and monolithic in their voting pattern. So, Florida Republicans have been very adept at micro targeting with a better understanding of the diversity within these broad groups. And those are also lessons that can be shared with Republicans elsewhere,” she said.
Whether it’s the members of Trump’s administration or the trips the president-elect is likely to take to Mar-a-Lago, get ready to hear a lot more about Florida from national news outlets over the next four years.
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