A former Trump official has launched a PAC backing Ron DeSantis for a 2024 run, calling him the 'strongest Republican available'
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images and Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- Former Trump official Ken Cuccinelli has launched a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
- Cuccinelli was once a close aide to former President Donald Trump.
- Cuccinelli is now calling DeSantis the "strongest Republican" candidate the GOP has for 2024.
A senior Trump-era official has launched a super PAC backing Florida Gov. DeSantis for a potential 2024 presidential bid.
Ken Cuccinelli, who was acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021, launched his new PAC, Never Back Down, on Thursday.
"DESANTIS 2024! Run, Ron, Run!" reads an announcement on the PAC's website. "SIGN OUR PETITION & URGE RON DESANTIS TO RUN!"
In a video on the PAC's website, Cuccinelli also urged people to donate to a potential DeSantis 2024 campaign.
"The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024," Cuccinelli said in a statement on Thursday.
Cuccinelli called DeSantis the "strongest Republican available" during an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
Cuccinelli, who pushed hardline immigration policies under the Trump administration, praised DeSantis for rolling out more restrictions on undocumented immigrants from Mexico.
"He is just head and shoulders above the rest of the field in that respect, so this isn't negative to anybody else. It's just a recognition of how good Governor DeSantis is," Cuccinelli told Fox.
But Cuccinelli was once close to Trump and had a direct line to him, per Politico. Cuccinelli's Thursday announcement backing DeSantis — one of Trump's top political rivals — marks a shift in his loyalties.
Trump has continually attacked DeSantis. In the last four months, Trump has said DeSantis is "very disloyal," called DeSantis several insulting nicknames, and claimed that DeSantis cried in front of him while asking for an endorsement in 2018.
DeSantis has not announced a 2024 run, but he's been touted as a strong contender for the GOP nomination by Republican insiders.
Other DeSantis supporters have also started independent PACs backing the governor. Longtime Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins founded the Ready for Ron PAC in May, gathering petition signatures and voter data for the governor. GOP donors have also bolstered DeSantis' political war chest with million-dollar checks, per CNN.
The Washington Post, citing two anonymous sources, reported on Thursday that DeSantis has privately told his allies that he plans to run, but that he doesn't intend to announce until May. If DeSantis does run, he'll be facing off with Trump, who in November kicked off his third presidential bid.
Cuccinelli and representatives for DeSantis and Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.