6 months later, how are Trump's Floridians faring?

TAMPA, Fla. — It’s been roughly six months since President Donald Trump brought a slew of Floridians with him to Washington, appointing them to key positions in the White House and across the federal government.

The country’s third-largest state, which had never before produced a president, has become a national hub for conservative politics.

Some of the Floridians that Trump picked have quickly worked to amplify the president’s highest political priorities. Others flamed out before ever getting to Washington.

How have these Floridians fared? Here is a rundown.

—Susie Wiles

Wiles, a Florida political veteran who ran Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, is the first woman to be White House chief of staff.

Widely regarded as disciplined and shrewd, she’s received praise from the president for her work so far in his administration. Although she is not as visible as previous White House chiefs of staff, she’s been credited with building a calmer and more unified West Wing than Trump had in his first term.

Trump had four chiefs of staff in his first White House stint. His first, Reince Priebus, left after six months. Wiles is on track to buck that.

Florida politicos have been on watch about how Wiles’ icy relationship with Gov. Ron DeSantis could affect the state. But in an interview last month with conservative podcaster Miranda Devine, Wiles praised DeSantis for how he has governed her home state and said any acrimony was in the “rearview mirror.”

—Marco Rubio

Rubio now oversees four federal agencies.

Trump originally tapped Florida’s senior senator to be secretary of state. Since then, the president has added to Rubio’s portfolio amid turmoil and turnover in other offices.

Rubio took over as interim director of the National Archives after Trump fired the former director, a Biden appointee, in February. He assumed the duties of national security adviser after the May ouster of the previous one, fellow Floridian Mike Waltz.

And he was named the interim director of the U.S. Agency for International Development as the Trump administration works to dismantle that agency.

(As a senator, Rubio championed foreign aid as an important economic and national defense tool. He announced earlier this month that the agency would completely halt a “charity-based” model of foreign aid and focus on more limited trade-based support for other countries.)

Rubio’s added roles make him an especially influential White House player whose relationship with the commander in chief appears to be a far cry from previously adversarial interactions between the two men. During the 2016 presidential race, Trump nicknamed Rubio “Little Marco,” and Rubio made jokes that Trump had small hands.

Rubio has been aggressive in revoking visas for foreign students with ties to political groups the Trump administration opposes. He has met with Russia’s foreign minister, working with the president to broker a peace deal in Ukraine. He has also traveled to Asia to affirm the administration’s focus and commitment to the continent in the midst of ongoing trade and tariff negotiations.

—Mike Waltz

A week after winning back the White House, Trump announced he wanted then-Florida U.S. Rep. Waltz as his national security adviser. Trump cited his military combat background as a Green Beret and called Waltz a champion for Trump’s “America First Foreign Policy agenda.”

But Waltz’s tenure was short-lived. About five months in, Waltz came under fire when The Atlantic reported he’d created a Signal group chat — contrary to national defense security protocols — to discuss plans for military strikes in Yemen and inadvertently included one of The Atlantic’s editors. Amid the ensuing news reports and punditry, Waltz and his deputy were ousted.

But Trump immediately announced he wanted Waltz to be ambassador to the United Nations. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved his nomination July 24, and his appointment can now be scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor.

—Pam Bondi

Bondi, a Tampa native and former Florida attorney general, wasted no time remaking the U.S. Justice Department in Trump’s image when she took the helm as U.S. attorney general earlier this year. (Bondi was Trump’s second pick for the job after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration.) Her record reflects Trump’s hard-line approach toward people he disagrees with, from universities to the courts. Some legal scholars say that how she has directed the Justice Department under Trump has been unprecedented.

In her first few days on the job, Bondi issued a memo to Justice Department employees mandating “zealous advocacy” in all aspects of their work to align with the Trump administration. She quickly issued directives to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, withhold money from sanctuary cities that don’t comply with Trump’s immigration plan and make illegal immigration a key focus of criminal prosecutions.

She has also fired dozens of federal prosecutors who handled Jan. 6 cases, including two in Florida. This summer, she rejected a federal court’s authority to name a new U.S. attorney in New Jersey by firing the federal prosecutor the court had named to replace an interim U.S. attorney. That interim appointee, Alina Habba, is a Trump ally who wanted to stay in the job.

But those moves haven’t protected Bondi from pundits in the MAGA base, who have attacked her over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

After saying in February that she had a list of Epstein clients and pledging to share previously undisclosed files in the case, she now says the agency will not release further information.

So far, Trump has had her back. He initially dismissed concerns about the Epstein files. Later, Trump said that Bondi should release “whatever she thinks is credible” on Epstein.

—Matt Gaetz

The Panhandle Republican was Trump’s first choice for attorney general, but the nomination fell apart in about a week. Gaetz, a staunch Trump ally, was dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use while serving in Congress.

Ultimately, Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration days before a House committee released a report that, in part, accused him of paying for sex, including with a 17-year-old, and purchasing and using drugs as a member of Congress. Gaetz was not charged with any crimes and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

He now hosts a weeknight cable talk show on the conservative One America News Network. He has flirted with a run for Florida governor, telling the Tampa Bay Times in January that he was thinking about jumping into the race.

In recent days, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has floated his name to lead a special counsel investigation into the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files.

—Paul Atkins

Atkins, who grew up in Tampa, is the chief regulator of Wall Street as chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He was nominated in December 2024 and confirmed in April. Atkins was a commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2002-2008. He is known as a strong backer of cryptocurrencies and will likely shape the commission’s regulatory approach toward them.

—Chad Chronister

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s nomination to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ended almost as soon as it was announced.

Chronister, who originally called the appointment “the honor of a lifetime,” said he withdrew after considering “the gravity of this very important responsibility.”

But Trump later said on social media that he chose to pull Chronister’s nomination. He pointed to Chronister’s 2020 decision to arrest a church pastor accused of violating COVID-19 restrictions. The arrest garnered national criticism from some on the political right and may have raised concerns from some in Trump’s orbit that Chronister was too moderate.

Chronister has called himself the “most Democratic of Republicans” — socially liberal and fiscally conservative. He has denied that the 2020 election was stolen and supported some gun restrictions, which has put him out of step with the National Rifle Association.

Since then, Chronister, who runs the 2,000-person sheriff’s office, has not commented publicly about what happened with the nomination.

—Other Floridians

Other Floridians, mostly businesspeople who have been Trump backers and donors, have been nominated to ambassadorships abroad. None have yet been confirmed. They include:

—Dr. Anji Sinha, nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore. Sinha, a longtime Trump friend and donor, is an orthopedic surgeon on Florida’s east coast. In his initial appearance in front of the Senate, he struggled to answer questions about U.S. relations with Singapore and broader regional issues in Asia that affect Singapore.

—Dan Newlin, nominated to be ambassador to Colombia. Newlin is an Orlando-based injury attorney. Newlin has donated to both parties but has most recently donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates, including $413,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2024.

—Benjamin Leon Jr., nominated to be ambassador to Spain. Leon is a Cuban American businessperson who founded Leon Medical Centers, which operate mainly in the Miami area.

—Dr. Peter Lamelas, nominated to be ambassador to Argentina. Lamelas was CEO of MD Now Urgent Care, the largest urgent care health care company in Florida. He donated $10,000 to Trump and the Republican National Committee in 2016.