Florida Politics

Trump names Florida’s outgoing House speaker from Miami to be Brazil ambassador

Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, speaks to the media during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, speaks to the media during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Tallahassee, Fla. mocner@miamiherald.com

President Trump is nominating Florida’s outgoing House speaker to be ambassador to Brazil, the latest Miami Republican named to a prominent diplomatic post.

Speaker Daniel Perez, who is finishing out his final term in the House this year as the chamber’s leader, was on a list of ambassadorial nominations released by the White House on Monday.

Perez was not immediately available for comment.

If confirmed by the Republican controlled U.S. Senate, Perez will join a small diplomatic corps from the Miami area: Panama Ambassador Kevin Cabrera is a former Miami-Dade County Commissioner; Peru Ambassador Bernie Navarro ran a mortgage company in Coral Gables, and healthcare executive Benjamin Leon is Trump’s ambassador to Spain.

First elected to the Florida House in 2017, Perez, 38, represents the Westchester area in Miami-Dade County. The married father of three is also the in-house counsel for a healthcare company.

DH
Douglas Hanks
Miami Herald
Doug Hanks covers Miami-Dade government for the Herald. He’s worked at the paper for more than 20 years, covering real estate, tourism and the economy before joining the Metro desk in 2014. Support my work with a digital subscription
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