On the ring road? Who from Florida could join the Trump administration?

John Kennedy
| Capital Bureau | USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA

President-elect Donald Trump new administration will almost certainly include several Florida residents as well as the governor. Ron DeSantis is already promoting his controversial health chief to a post in Washington.

DeSantis took up X, former Twitter, for advertising Dr. Joseph Ladapostate surgeon general and HHS secretary, who will lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Trump.

“Retweet if you want this man – Dr. Joseph Ladapo – to serve as HHS Secretary in the new Trump Administration,” DeSantis tweeted with a photo of Ladapo.

DeSantis’ wife Casey DeSantis. retweeted her husbandadding a glowing “100” as a sign of approval.

Vaccine skeptics vie for leadership in federal health programs

Ladapo, a vaccine skeptic, appears to be vying with fellow anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the top job. Kennedy, who backed Trump for president after abandoning his own presidential bid, is expected to have some role in public health, perhaps as a White House “health czar.”

Kennedy, who warns about vaccines, criticizes pharmaceutical companies and wants to eliminate fluoride from water supplies — even though it improves oral health — was at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday when DeSantis spoke about Ladapo.

Ladapo caught DeSantis’ attention as a doctor-activist fighting COVID-19 vaccinations and, under the governor, became a regular on far-right podcasts promoting opposing views.

He was a signatory to the Great Barrington Declaration, which advocated lifting COVID-19 restrictions to promote herd immunity, and was once accused by colleagues at the University of Florida of “bias in reporting cherry picking results; focusing only on the evidence that supports his position.”

Critics say Ladapo’s leadership contributed to a marked decline in Florida’s routine school vaccinations for measles, mumps and chickenpox.

Is the Floridians ring road connected?

Still, Ladapo is among a handful of Floridians vying in some circles for federal positions in the new Trump administration.

The president-elect is officially a Floridian. And Trump’s 13% margin of victory in Florida on Tuesday marked his best showing in a state he has already won three times and is clearly trending red for Republicans.

∎ US Senator Marco Rubio from Florida has been mentioned as a leading candidate for Secretary of State.

Rubio was a finalist in Trump’s search for vice president, a role that went to J.D. Vance. But Florida’s senior senator has been active in foreign affairs in the Senate, especially regarding Latin America.

∎ U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz is being discussed for a possible defense secretary role, and the former Green Beret colonel created aggressive legislation toward China during his time in Congress.

Walz, who represents Volusia and Flagler counties, was just elected to his fourth term. First elected in 2018, Walz succeeded DeSantis in Congress.

∎ Susie Wiles, Trump’s co-campaign chief, is perhaps closer to the new president than anyone else and is seen as a possible White House chief of staff.

Wiles played a similar role more than 30 years ago for former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney, the city where she built her political career.

Low-key, organized and disciplined, Wiles managed gubernatorial campaigns on behalf of Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and DeSantis and first became involved with Trump in 2016, managing his campaign in Florida.

She famously fell out with DeSantis, who forced her out of Trump’s world in 2019 and cost her a lucrative job at the powerful Florida lobbying firm Ballard Partners. The governor was allegedly upset by the perception that she was behind negative news leaks.

Given their history, Wiles in the White House may not be comfortable for DeSantis.

But the governor’s relationship with Trump has swung from protégé to target, and the brutal attacks he endured during their fight for the Republican presidential nomination are still being felt.

∎ Brian HughesTrump’s senior adviser is a longtime Florida political operative poised to serve under the new president. He was tapped by the campaign to lead Trump’s efforts in Florida but has evolved into a broader role.

Hughes worked for Scott when he was governor and then spent eight years with former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, who previously served as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Under Curry, Hughes became the city’s chief executive.

∎ Carlos TrujilloA former member of the Florida House of Representatives, he served under Trump as U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, becoming the president’s confidante for Latin America. He was the campaign’s senior adviser on Latino issues.

Trump on Tuesday became the first Republican to carry Latino-rich Miami-Dade County since George H. W. Bush in 1988. House.

Trujillo is expected to continue to play an important role in advising Trump on how to build on newfound Latino support. And maybe much more.

∎ Erica Donaldsformer Collier County school board member, conservative education entrepreneur and wife of a Trump surrogate, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, could end up in the new administration’s top education post if something like the U.S. Department of Education still exists . around.

Donalds, an adviser to Moms for Freedom, is doing the same for the Heritage Foundation, whose Project 2025 policy plan for the next administration recommends eliminating the Department of Education. Trump has expressed support for this goal, although he distances himself from Project 2025.

Donalds, who has run charter schools and led the education business by helping voucher-funded private schools, could play a central role in any Trump overhaul of the education system.

John Kennedy is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida bureau. He can be contacted at [email protected]or on X at @JKennedyReport.