As President-elect Donald Trump considers Gov. Ron DeSantis to lead the Pentagon, many Floridians may be wondering: Who will be governor if he takes the job?
The answer is Jeanette Núñez.
Here’s what else to know about her:
She’s a Miami native: Núñez, a wife and mother of three, has deep roots in South Florida. She was born and raised in Miami and is a graduate of Florida International University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and political science and a master’s degree in public administration.
After graduating, she dipped her toes into politics as a legislative aide to former state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla.
She became a state legislator: Núñez, a Republican, was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2010. She quickly rose through the ranks and was named Speaker Pro Tempore in 2016. The role — which ran through 2018 — was ceremonial but indicative of her relationships in the conservative Florida House.
While serving in that role, Núñez was picked by DeSantis as his running mate.
She pushed for in-state tuition for immigrant students: During the 2014 legislative session, Núñez was a key player in pushing legislation to allow children of undocumented immigrants to pay the same in-state tuition rates for college as other Floridians. The measure was approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“This is about upward mobility, about a subset of our population that has attended our public schools,” Núñez said at the time. “We have spent tens of thousands of dollars educating them, and it doesn’t make sense to hold these children back.”
Nearly a decade later, in 2023, DeSantis led an effort to repeal the law, saying the state should not “subsidize” the education of non-U.S. citizens. That effort failed.
Núñez has also been caught in the crosshairs of other hard-line immigration policies proposed by the governor.
She has worked in health care: In 2004, she worked at Jackson Health System as the state director for government relations, handling the hospital’s state affairs.
Two years later, in 2006, she was promoted to vice president of government relations, overseeing local, state and federal affairs. In 2010, she was elected to the Florida House and became vice president of community affairs for Kendall Regional and Aventura Hospitals and Medical Centers.
She is the head of Space Florida: Núñez is also the chairwoman of Space Florida, the state’s aerospace agency. She has helped oversee rocket launches from Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center, which in recent years have represented the vast majority of the orbital flights from the U.S. This year, the Space Florida Board of Directors outlined major upgrades around Cape Canaveral to continue building on this year’s record number of launches.
In addition to Space Florida, Núñez has other statutory responsibilities as lieutenant governor, such as acting as the governor’s successor.
State law also says the governor may assign her, without Senate confirmation, the duty of serving as the head of any one department. In her case, it has been the Department of Health.
Under state law, she is to have direct involvement in economic development and workforce development projects.
Núñez also serves as the chair of Florida’s Cybersecurity Task Force and is a member of the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking.
©2024 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Who is Jeanette Núñez? The First in Line to Replace Ron DeSantis as Florida Governor
As lieutenant governor, Núñez, 52, would be the first in line to serve as governor in the event that DeSantis resigns his post, according to state law. If that were to happen, Núñez would become Florida’s first Cuban-American and first female governor.
(Roberto Galan/Shutterstock)
