DeSantis Calls for Special Elections After Trump Picks 3 Florida Lawmakers for Cabinet

(Left) President-elect Donald Trump visits the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on Nov. 13, 2024, and (Right) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024. Saul Loeb and Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/ AFP

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked Secretary of State Cord Byrd to start preparing for special elections after President-elect Donald Trump picked three Florida lawmakers to serve in his Cabinet.

“Congratulations to the Floridians being appointed to key positions in the Trump Administration: Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Matt Gaetz, and Congressman Mike Waltz,” DeSantis posted on social media platform X. “I’ve instructed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to formulate and announce a schedule for the upcoming special elections immediately.”

Pending approval by the Senate next year, Rubio would become Trump’s Secretary of State, and Gaetz the next U.S. Attorney General. Waltz is slated to be Trump’s national security adviser—a role Trump said he will promote to the Cabinet level.

Florida law requires that vacancies in Congress be filled through special elections. That means the voters of Florida’s First District and the voters of Florida’s Sixth District who elected Gaetz and Waltz, respectively, will get to choose their replacements. The governor ordered the election preparation while on a trade mission in Italy.

Gaetz’s district in the Florida Panhandle includes Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach, while Waltz’s district stretches from Daytona Beach and Palm Coast across to I-75, including the entire Ocala National Forest.

The call for special elections was made days after the GOP retained its majority in the House of Representatives. However, both districts are seen as Republican strongholds, with both congressmen winning reelection by more than 30 points.

Because Rubio is a senator, DeSantis will appoint his replacement. The replacement will serve the remainder of Rubio’s term and will face his or her first general election for the seat in 2026. It is unclear at this time who DeSantis will choose, but the promotion of any sitting state representative or state senator would spark yet another special election.

The last time Florida held a special election to fill a House seat was in 2021, after the passing of Democrat Alcee Hastings, who represented House District 20. Several Democratic lawmakers at the state level resigned their posts to run for the open seat, which, in turn, triggered special elections to fill those seats.

At the time of publication, Gaetz was the only one of the three Floridians to have submitted his resignation.

Rubio, Gaetz, and Waltz join a presidential wish list that includes South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.