Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is “begging” President Donald Trump for a job in his administration or a spot on the Supreme Court, a new report alleges.
Six insiders tell Axios that DeSantis, 47, is “looking for what to do next” after he terms out as governor in January—and he does not appear to be picky.
Trump, 79, told confidants that DeSantis is angling for several top positions, including U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of Defense, sources told Axios.
Trump and DeSantis butted heads during the 2024 GOP primary, but quelled their insults after DeSantis dropped out and immediately endorsed Trump. The men had lunch together on April 12 at the president’s National Doral Golf Club in Miami. There, DeSantis reportedly made his pitch.
“Ron was begging me to be AG,” Trump told one confidant, according to an Axios source.
A second insider told the site, “There was a conversation at that lunch. I don’t think AG is real. But he’s gonna be looking for work and Trump likes him.”
Axios reports that discussions between DeSantis and Trump “got serious” after the president fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi this month and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March. The latter role was quickly filled by former Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, but the future of the AG’s office, now run by acting Attorney General Tod Blanche, is up in the air.
DeSantis is a Harvard- and Yale-educated lawyer who served as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer in the Navy for six years. His predecessor, Bondi, studied law at Stetson University in her native Florida and previously served as the state’s attorney general. Trump’s first pick to lead the DOJ in MAGA 2.0, Matt Gaetz, another Floridian, had an even flimsier legal résumé.
Other sources told Axios that DeSantis is not interested in being attorney general. However, they said a spot on the Supreme Court would be a “dream” gig for DeSantis after leaving Tallahassee in January.
“DeSantis is 100 percent not interested in the AG job, but he would be interested in two things: War secretary or Supreme Court, which would be his dream job,” a source familiar with discussions told Axios.
If Republican lawmakers get their way, there may soon be an opening at the high court.
Republicans have been quietly prodding the 76-year-old Samuel Alito, a conservative, to resign from the Supreme Court ahead of what is expected to be a midterms bloodbath for the GOP, The Hill reported Monday. There has been no word on whether Alito would entertain the idea.
Reached for comment on the Axios report, DeSantis’ office did not deny that he pitched himself for top jobs.
“Governor DeSantis enjoys a great relationship with President Trump,” DeSantis spokesman Alex Lanfranconi told the Daily Beast in an emailed statement. “Some in the media prefer to focus on fake rumors rather than the many accomplishments of Florida’s partnership with the Trump administration. The governor looks forward to continuing to work with President Trump on enforcing immigration laws, restoring the Everglades, and helping to reform college athletics.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump and DeSantis’ relationship goes back to 2018, when a Trump endorsement catapulted the then-little-known congressman through the GOP primary and into the governor’s mansion. From there, he ran the state in a way that led some to call him Trump’s mini-me.
Trump described DeSantis as a “terrific person” and a good governor after DeSantis pulled his presidential bid in 2024—a sharp pivot from insults like “Ron DeSanctimonious” and calling him “a wounded falling bird from the skies” on the campaign trail.
The duo remains aligned politically and has met multiple times since Trump returned to the White House, including them taking a tour of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” together in July.
More recently, DeSantis signed legislation officially renaming Palm Beach International Airport after the president, whose Mar-a-Lago estate sits just five miles to its east.
