WSJ REPORT: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Now Under Consideration for Secretary of Defense
By Space Coast Daily // December 4, 2024
Gov. DeSantis has military experience in the U.S. Navy
WASHINGTON DC – The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump is now considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement for Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, who is under scrutiny over allegations of personal misconduct.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has been under constant siege by the legacy media and Democrat politicians since his nomination, who have repeated yet-to-be-proven claims about Hegseth’s personal ethics.
Gov. DeSantis, who ran against President Trump in the Republican primary, was on the initial list of Defense Secretary candidates and has military experience in the U.S. Navy.
In 2004, during his second year at Harvard Law, DeSantis was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy and assigned to the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). He completed Naval Justice School in 2005. Later that year, he reported to the JAG Trial Service Office Command South East at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, as a prosecutor. He was promoted from lieutenant, junior grade, to lieutenant in 2006.
In the spring of 2006, DeSantis arrived at Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), working with detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
In 2007, DeSantis reported to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group in Coronado, California, where he was assigned as a legal adviser to SEAL Team One; he deployed to Iraq in the fall of 2007 as part of the troop surge.
He served as legal adviser to Dane Thorleifson, the SEAL Commander of the Special Operations Task Force-West in Fallujah.
DeSantis returned to the U.S. in April 2008, reassigned to the Naval Region Southeast Legal Service. He was appointed to serve as a special assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida.
DeSantis was assigned as a trial defense counsel until his honorable discharge from active duty in February 2010. He concurrently accepted a reserve commission as a lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Navy Reserve.
During his military career, DeSantis was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal. His Navy Reserve service ended in February 2019, a month after his gubernatorial inauguration, with the rank of lieutenant commander.
This is a breaking story, stay tuned to Space Coast Daily for updates.
