President Trump said Friday he would consider appointing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a cabinet position next year.
“Well, I like him a lot,” Trump told a reporter in explaining why he might appoint the term-limited governor to a top post.
DeSantis was once among Trump’s 2024 primary rivals for president, but he came in a distant second in the Iowa caucuses, and his campaign fizzled out.
The Sunshine State gov eventually endorsed Trump, and DeSantis now works closely on Trump’s priorities, including his crackdown on illegal immigration.
Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis
The ruthless personal attacks that Trump leveled against DeSantis during the primary — including referring to the Florida governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious” — have since given way to kinder regards.
The president declared DeSantis a “10 out of 10 — maybe 9.9,” when touring the Republican governor’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility for illegal immigrants in the Everglades in July.
The Sunshine State will also host the president’s eventual library — and the governor has already signed Florida bills to rename roads and even the airport near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate after him.
Earlier this month, DeSantis further praised Trump’s executive action aimed at “restoring order, fairness, and stability” in college athletics by, among other things, only allowing student athletes to transfer to a different school once without the penalty of being forced to sit out a season.
Most recently, DeSantis pushed new congressional maps in Florida that could net Republicans four more House seats in the 2026 midterms as Trump fights to keep Congress under GOP control.
Trump has reshuffled his cabinet in recent months, ousting Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, Pam Bondi as attorney general and Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary.
The president has yet to nominate a permanent replacement for the AG and Labor posts.
The Florida governor has previously expressed interest in the position of defense secretary or attorney general, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Axios.
DeSantis’s second term as governor ends in January 2027.
A rep for the governor did not respond to a Post request for comment.
