Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will name Rep. Mike Caruso (R) as his next Lt. Governor in the coming days as current Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez is expected to be named President of Florida International University.
Last week, a source close to the process told The Floridian that Gov. DeSantis's office was in conversations with him/her about tapping Rep. Caruso as either interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the state or interim Lt. Governor.
Considering that Gov. DeSantis is expected to face continued Republican opposition from state legislators, it seems prudent for him to pick Rep. Caruso, considering that he was the sole vote against Speaker Daniel Perez’s “Trump Act” immigration bill during the recently concluded special session.
Caruso made this statement shortly after the final vote was taken on the House “Trump Act.”
“I am the ONLY Republican State Representative who stood strong with Governor Ron DeSantis and VOTED AGAINST the do-nothing immigration bill, HB1B, passed by the House & Senate last night. This bill takes executive powers away from the governor, doesn’t provide an enforcement mechanism for E-Verify, and doesn’t require municipal county and state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE. It even allows for catch and release of criminal aliens by judges. Working closely with the governor, I filed 10 bills, that addressed all of these concerns and more so Florida would be the state to lead the country with the strictest mandates. Expect this bad bill, disingenuously titled the “Trump Act,” to be vetoed by the Governor and a new special session to be called to get immigration right and give Florida the strongest immigration laws in the nation.”—Rep. Mike Caruso
Nuñez, who has been loyal to DeSantis during his two terms in office, may not be open to pushing back against fellow Miami-Dade County legislators, so picking someone like Caruso, who is two counties removed from the Miami-Dade boogie down and doesn’t have to worry about facing a strong primary election challenge makes sense.
In reality, Nuñez may find it hard to pass up a $1 million-a-year job at FIU, and she isn’t afraid of pushing back against Miami lawmakers.
Both the Miami Herald and The Floridian reported that Nuñez was on the very short list of candidates to be FIU president. The Floridian reported that the decision was “imminent.”
If DeSantis does appoint Caruso to any top-level position, it will most likely be that of Lt. Governor.
The CFO position appears to be all but Sen. Blaise Ingoglia’s to lose.
Why?
First of all, DeSantis is tasked to appoint the seat the current CFO Jimmy Patronis will be vacating after he wins in the special congressional general election race he is locked into.
DeSantis will not appoint Sen. Joe Gruters, who has already garnered the endorsement of President Donald Trump and who has also been a thorn in the governor’s side for several years.
Sen. Ingoglia has made is willingness to be CFO public and considering how close to DeSantis he is (both men are said to like, not to mention all the illegal immigration legislation he has sponsored and championed for the governor, the decision to pick Ingoglia for the job makes all the sense in the world.
Also, could his recent endorsement to by the America First Institute (AFI) and their revoking of Sen. Gruter’s endorsement weigh into DeSantis’s decision to appoint Ingoglia as CFO?
If Caruso does become the next Lt. Governor, expect DeSantis to support Tracy Caruso to replace her husband as a state legislator. Mrs. Caruso has already announced her candidacy for the job.
The Governor’s office did not respond to our request for comment
On another note, when have there ever been three Italian-Americans holding office at the very top of Florida Politics?
DeSantis, Ingoglia, and Caruso. Oh, fughetaboutit!
