Ron DeSantis says Byron Donalds should be 'focused on enacting' Trump's agenda—not running for governor

During a press conference on Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked whether he would be endorsing Rep Byron Donalds for the 2026 governor’s race, to which Desantis said that he wanted Congress members "focused on enacting" President Donald Trump’s agenda.

"You know my view is, is Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda," said DeSantis. "They haven't done very much yet. 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."

DeSantis said that "we’ve achieved victories in Florida," but "we need to start achieving those victories up there" in the nation’s capital.

"So I think people look at it and say, you know, you 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 okay, well then deliver results up there. You know, that's what I want to see. I want to see them delivering results for the people of Florida. We deliver it here all the time for the people of Florida, and that's what we need to be doing."

DeSantis said he was going to be raising money and "we’re going to be looking to have somebody that’s going to be able to continue and build off the success that we've had here in Florida."

"I think a lot of people think somehow the battle’s been won, and you don't have to worry about it. We could revert very quickly. That could happen 100 percent and so it really needs to be, okay, are you going to be somebody that's going to fight for people, especially when it's not easy? Have you been willing to get in and get involved in these big battles that we've had and have won over these many years? And if you're not willing to do that, then I think we are going to see this state revert."

He said that he “would not take anything for granted," and noted that "we've had hundreds of thousands of people move here specifically because of the policies that we have. And I think that that's something that you should not take for granted."

"This is not necessarily something that just goes on autopilot, and it's just something that I think is really, really important. So my thing is, yes, we've achieved these victories we have more to do. But you got to solidify that and then you got to take it, take it to the next level. And that's really what the name of the game is."