Donald Trump’s brash attempt to nominate his daughter-in-law to a Senate seat sends a message that is not lost on Republican lawmakers who would work closely with her.
They already live in Trump’s world. Sharing formal lunches and late-night amendment votes with his closest relative would be just the last option.
“I mean, he sells watches,” Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana told DailyMail.com. “And I think he’ll continue to do things that don’t bother most people in half the country. And for the other half, they better get used to it, because the indictment was largely against their position and against the way this place is run in general,” the Trump ally said.
Braun, the governor-elect of Indiana, was referring to the signed gold watches that Trump is selling for up to $100,000 — a product that came out months before Trump started selling a $199 fragrance tied to his visit last weekend to Notre Dame. Both product pitches indicate that Trump has no intention of bowing to watchdog groups or historical norms that have kept presidents from profiting from office.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would have the power to appoint a successor to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is increasingly likely to be confirmed as secretary of state after the new year. And DeSantis himself could take on the powerful post of Secretary of Defense if Pete Hegseth’s nomination implodes — although key Republican senators like Joni Ernst now support the “process” to confirm him.
“I think he’s qualified for the role and I certainly don’t come in with a negative attitude,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said after meeting with Rubio, in a sign that he could sail through the chamber. A nomination for DeSantis could involve a complex exchange that could still land Lara Trump in the Senate.
Rubio himself told DailyMail.com that he believes Lara Trump has what it takes to become a member of the Senate. “Yes,” he said. And he said there is nothing inappropriate about Trump fishing on behalf of his daughter-in-law.
‘Why wouldn’t that be the case? He lives in Florida and has also been elected president. If he has an opinion about who it should be, he should share it,” Rubio said.
Newly elected President Donald Trump’s attempt to get his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as a member of the Senate is receiving support from Republicans in the Senate.
Lara Trump, who just announced she is stepping down from her position as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, would do so bring new blood in the chamber, which is three-quarters male and includes five octogenarians, 30 members over 70 and 21 over 65 – even though her children Luke and Carolina are blood relatives of the country’s Article II head.
Trump recently spoke to DeSantis about his daughter-in-law, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, at a time when he is trying to fill his Cabinet with loyalists.
A Republican senator who spoke to DailyMail.com said party members would have no concerns about the president’s daughter-in-law participating in the weekly strategy sessions senators hold on crab cakes and other regional dishes.
But the senator did raise an issue. “I think that’s going to be a tough issue for the governor of Florida — she’s from North Carolina,” the senator said. (She currently lives in Florida, as does her powerful father-in-law).
She gave an interview to the Associated Press on Monday in which she indicated she was wide open to the post.
“It’s something I would seriously consider,” she said. “I’m completely transparent, I don’t know exactly what that would look like. And I definitely want to get all the information I can if that’s something that’s really for me. But yes, I would 100 percent consider it.”
Republican voters also like the idea.
The power play is not lost on Senate Democrats, who will quickly adjust to minority status in a chamber where Republicans will have a 53-47 lead after their election win.
Whoever DeSantis chooses will serve until 2026, when a special election will be held for the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
“Look, the reality is it’s the governor’s appointment. We can comment or have an opinion, but we have no influence. There’s a new sheriff in town. His name is Trump,” said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.).