The campaign tours may be over and the TV appearances put on hold, but Governor-elect Ron DeSantis and his transition team have been busy since the election carving out a state government, at a pace both rapid and glacial.
So far his appointments have favored experienced bureaucrats from a range of political ideologies — surprising critics that expected DeSantis’ embrace of President Donald Trump to translate into appointments of loyal supporters with missions to destroy the agencies they lead.
For now, two Democrats — state Rep. Jared Moskowitz and longtime public official Jim Zingale — count themselves as part of DeSantis’ new administration, alongside a former Trump White House communications director and many other Republican lawmakers and insiders. “It would be an understatement to say I was not DeSantis’ supporter, but it appears he has appointed solid, competent people,” said GOP political strategist Mac Stipanovich, who is strongly opposed to Trump. “I expected the appointments to be much more heavy on campaign operatives and to have had a much greater Trumpian ideological edge and that has not been the case.”
Read more from our news partner, The Miami Herald.
