DeSantis: Donalds hasn't been part of victories we've had in Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) took a swipe at Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) Monday as the congressman inches closer to launching his gubernatorial campaign in the state.

“My view is Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda. They haven’t done very much yet,” DeSantis told reporters when asked whether he planned to endorse Donalds.

“They’re not putting his executive orders into place. We’ll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes, I think, is not something that’s advisable at all,” he continued.

“The reality is we’ve achieved victories in Florida. We need to start achieving those victories up there,” he said. “I think people look at it and say you’ve got a guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the left over these last years. He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that and that’s fine, but OK, then deliver results up there.”

DeSantis made the comments at a press conference announcing Florida Department of Government Efficiency efforts.

The governor and the congressman fell out during the 2024 Republican presidential primary when Donalds endorsed President Trump over DeSantis. While DeSantis and Trump have made efforts to repair their relationship after their primary battle, Donalds has become one of Trump’s most vocal surrogates.

Trump publicly pushed Donalds to launch a gubernatorial bid on Thursday, writing on his platform Truth Social that the congressman “would be a great and powerful governor for Florida.”

Donalds told The Hill on Friday that he has not spoken to DeSantis about his expected gubernatorial run, but he said, “I know we will.”

When asked whether DeSantis will endorse him, Donalds said “it’s too early for that.”

Donalds has privately told Florida Republican donors and operatives that he plans to run for governor, but he stopped short of announcing a bid at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.

“As for me, stay tuned,” Donalds told the conference.

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