One of the first Cabinet nominations announced by President-elect Donald Trump was that of former 2016 primary rival turned ally Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be the next secretary of State, which if confirmed would open up a vacancy in the U.S. Senate.

Under Florida law, Gov. Ron DeSantis has the authority to appoint a replacement to fill that vacancy until a special election in 2026, but the popular GOP governor is said to be "not in a hurry" to make that decision, according to the New York Post.

One reason DeSantis is taking his time to name Rubio's replacement is that he understands the importance of thoroughly vetting the eventual appointee, but it could also be because he is grappling with the pros and cons of naming a prominent Trump ally, such as his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, or a state-level official who has proven their loyalty and worth to the governor over the past few years.

DeSantis is "not in a hurry to make an important decision"

Sen. Rubio as secretary of State was one of President-elect Trump's first nominations and arguably the least controversial, and it is widely anticipated that he will breeze through the Senate confirmation hearings with ample support from his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, likely at some point in January.

That gives Gov. DeSantis plenty of time to choose a replacement to fill Rubio's vacant seat for the next two years, but according to NBC News, there should be few expectations that the Florida governor will publicly announce his selection before the end of the year.

"The governor will be conducting a thorough vetting process and interview process in December that will involve several candidates," an unnamed DeSantis adviser told the outlet. "He’s not in a hurry to make an important decision."

DeSantis laid out what he is looking for

Gov. DeSantis already indicated last week that his appointee to succeed Sen. Rubio in the Senate would not be named anytime soon in an X post that also laid out some of the particular attributes and qualifications he was considering.

"We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting," the governor wrote. "More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January."

He added, "Florida deserves a Senator who will help President Trump deliver on his election mandate, be strong on immigration and border security, take on the entrenched bureaucracy and administrative state, reverse the nation’s fiscal decline, be animated by conservative principles, and has a proven record of results."

Himself or a loyal state-level official

There are a few different paths Gov. DeSantis could follow in choosing Sen. Rubio's replacement, according to NBC News, including appointing himself to the vacant seat, or perhaps a temporary "placeholder" to keep it filled until a special election in 2026 for voters to decide who should serve out the remainder of Rubio's term that expires after 2028.

However, that seems not likely to occur, as an anonymous source close to DeSantis told the outlet, "The governor is not looking for a placeholder and seems unlikely to pursue the Senate himself."

A more likely option is that DeSantis picks one of several state-level figures who he's worked well with over the years, which includes possibilities like "Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Attorney General Ashley Moody, former House Speaker Paul Renner, Secretary of State Cord Byrd, former House Speaker Jose Oliva, and DeSantis chief of staff James Uthmeier," potentially among others.

Lara Trump is an option

A third possibility, which some influential figures in President-elect Trump's orbit have been pushing hard, is Trump's daughter-in-law and wife of his middle son Eric, Lara Trump, who has been a Florida resident for the past few years and is currently serving as a co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

There is a legitimate debate, however, about whether she meets the governor's stated qualifications to be his appointee, and given the vigor with which some Trump allies have promoted her, there is concern that the prior deep rift between the Trump and DeSantis camps that appeared during the combative GOP primary could be reopened and worsened if DeSantis opts against picking her.