Trumpworld wooing candidate to run against DeSantis’ handpicked attorney general

People around President Donald Trump have been courting Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez to run for attorney general, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.

Perez and his leadership team were in Washington Thursday for a Florida summit organized by the White House. Before the event, they had separate meetings at the White House with top-level officials, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to a senior administration official. They also met with Trump, though the president said the topic of Perez campaigning for attorney general did not come up.

Perez, a Miami lawyer, also visited Washington last week to discuss a potential run, according to a person familiar with the talks. A third source said neither Trump nor Vice President JD Vance spoke directly to Perez about running.

Perez, a Republican, declined to comment.

Interest from Trump’s team in Perez entering the race would further inflame the proxy war in Florida between the president and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who ran unsuccessfully against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

DeSantis appointed his former Chief of Staff James Uthmeier to the vacant attorney general post in February, giving him an incumbent-like advantage for the 2026 election even though voters did not pick him for the job.

DeSantis has also taken frequent jabs at Perez, whose chamber has probed state spending under the governor’s leadership and investigated a charity spearheaded by his wife.

Another potential proxy-battle is the governor’s race. DeSantis is in his final term in office and cannot run again, according to state law. The president has backed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds to replace DeSantis. The governor is looking to endorse someone else.

A Donalds campaign official confirmed that Trump called Donalds on the phone Thursday while he was with Perez at the White House.

Efforts to recruit Perez to run and details about his appearance at the White House were first reported by Florida Politics.

Trump confirmed on Friday he met with Perez the prior day, but said they didn’t talk about the race.

“We didn’t talk about that, but he’s done a fantastic job. He’s respected all over the country. Really, he’s a leader, and he’s done just a fantastic job. We didn’t discuss anything having to do with his future. I’m sure he’d be very good at that,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office.

This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 5:14 PM.