Nominate Ron DeSantis for Attorney General
Theodore Roosevelt captured it best: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” That’s the mindset that matters right now at the Department of Justice.
On Thursday, President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. She’s heading to the private sector after months of frustration over the pace of key priorities and, most glaringly, the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Deputy AG Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense attorney, steps in as acting AG. The move was abrupt but not surprising. The DOJ has a credibility problem that’s been festering for over a year. Half-measures and delays on transparency don’t cut it when the public demands straight answers on two-tiered justice and elite accountability.
This is the moment for a bolder choice. President Trump should nominate Ron DeSantis as the next Attorney General.
Why DeSantis Is the Perfect Fit
DeSantis isn’t a Washington insider looking for a soft landing. He’s a former Navy JAG officer who understands the law and isn’t afraid to use it. As governor of Florida, he’s run one of the largest state governments in the country—managing a massive budget, thousands of employees, appointments across agencies, disaster response, and aggressive pushback against federal overreach. He keeps policy in a vise grip. When the statutes are on his side, he doesn’t flinch from policy or culture battles. He engages—and he wins.
Look at the record. In 2022, DeSantis won reelection by nearly 20 points, the largest margin in a Florida gubernatorial race in decades. He flipped Democratic strongholds, expanded GOP margins with Hispanic voters, and helped turn Florida redder and more reliably conservative. He fought ballot measures on abortion and marijuana in 2024 and kept them from hitting the required threshold. He sued the prior administration repeatedly, advanced parental rights in education, enforced election integrity, and ran real experiments on immigration enforcement. Democrats call it overreach. Voters in Florida called it effective governance.
That’s exactly what the DOJ needs right now: someone with the president’s trust and full confidence, who can manage a sprawling bureaucracy of over 115,000 people while driving results on border security, fentanyl trafficking, cartel prosecutions, and restoring basic fairness to federal law enforcement. DeSantis has shown he can scale conservative priorities without waiting for perfect conditions or consensus from the permanent bureaucracy.
The Political Upside: A Unifying Battle
I respect Lee Zeldin. He’s doing strong work at the EPA on deregulation and would likely make a quietly excellent AG—steady, competent, low-drama. Harmeet Dhillon is locked in and effective as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Keep them right where they are delivering. This particular moment, post-Bondi, calls for something more visible and galvanizing.
A DeSantis nomination would create the unifying battle the GOP needs. We have enough intraparty friction on procedure, spending, and Senate dynamics. What we don’t have enough of is a clear, public fight that rallies the entire base around a shared goal: finally applying maximum pressure to the sorest spot in the system right now—the Epstein files and the broader sense that accountability stops at certain doors.
The confirmation hearings would be a national stage. DeSantis wouldn’t play defense. He’d lay out the Florida model scaled to the federal level: aggressive but lawful enforcement, full transparency where statutes allow, and zero tolerance for selective prosecution. Democrats would grandstand. That’s fine—it only energizes the grassroots. Senate Leader John Thune and any recalcitrant members of the GOP Conference would feel real public heat. Confirmation becomes a loyalty test ahead of the 2026 midterms. It smokes out hesitation without reigniting old 2024 primary ghosts. The base unites around a proven winner who beats Democrats when it counts.
Practical Realities
Practical details? DeSantis is term-limited as governor, with his time in Tallahassee ending January 2027. Florida succession is straightforward. Trump has already said publicly he’d “certainly consider” DeSantis for a role once that term ends, noting he’s “doing a good job.” If the country calls now for the DOJ fight, DeSantis has never hesitated to serve. His pattern is clear: duty first, results over comfort.
The risks are manageable. The upside is maximum bang—resetting the DOJ narrative, delivering on transparency for the Epstein matter, and showing the party can fight and win together instead of sniping internally.
Time to Act
This isn’t about nostalgia or settling scores. It’s pragmatic politics in the Roosevelt tradition: use the tools available right now—a strong nominee with executive experience and base appeal, a Senate majority, and widespread frustration with the status quo.
President Trump has the moment. Nominate Ron DeSantis for Attorney General. Give the base the unifying battle it needs, put real pressure where it belongs, and start delivering the law-and-order results voters demanded.
The country—and the Department of Justice—would be better for it.
