(LifeSiteNews) — President Donald Trump has endorsed Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, a moderate Republican who has pushed pro-LGBT and pro-amnesty measures in the Sunshine State, to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) should the chair become vacant in the near future.
On July 24, Trump posted on Truth Social that he hopes current RNC Chair Micahel Whatley runs for the U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina held by retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, a liberal Republican.
“I need him in Washington, and I need him representing YOU!” Trump said. “Fortunately, I have somebody who will do a wonderful job as the Chairman of the RNC. His name is, Joe Gruters, and he will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. So, should Michael Whatley run for the Senate, please let this notification represent my Complete and Total Endorsement. HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
The endorsement raised concerns over several past positions Gruters has taken at odds with conservatives, including many in Trump’s original base.
Earlier this month, conservative Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis explained that he rejected Gruters for the role of the state’s Chief Financial Officer (for which Trump also endorsed him) because Gruters had opposed legislation to reduce the influence of teachers’ unions, backed a state constitutional amendment that would have decriminalized recreational marijuana, authored a “terrible amnesty bill” that would have severely limited the governor’s power in immigration enforcement, and “authored legislation that would have put gender ideology as a special class in Florida law; we’ve done the opposite since I’ve been governor.”
In 2020, the Herald-Tribune reported that Gruters had introduced that last bill, the so-called “Competitive Workforce Act,” without success in 2017 and 2018. It would have added “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as recognized classes to Florida anti-discrimination rules for workplaces, housing, and public accommodations. In 2020 he attempted a narrower version that only applied to workplaces, which angered LGBT activists.
“I’m an ally of the LGBTQ community,” Gruters insisted at the time.
Speculation abounded online as to Trump’s possible reasoning, which ranged from simply rewarding Gruters’s lavish praise of the president, to the influence of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles (a former major player in Florida politics aligned with the state GOP establishment and who has clashed with DeSantis), to political maneuvering to preserve the RNC’s pro-Trump loyalties in the 2028 presidential primary, to Gruters’s simply aligning with Trump’s more inconsistent conservatism on social issues.
Trump not making stupid endorsements based on nothing more than Gruters saying nice things about him is an option.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) July 25, 2025
Trump needs to seriously rethink his endorsement of Gruters as RNC Chair.
Gruters is center left. He’s hardly a Republican and not a conservative.
few in Florida are more owned and controlled by Democrat donors than Joe. https://t.co/h8927dPKDt
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) July 26, 2025
This is Trump-Endorsed Joe Gruters… Joe Gruters is the new Chairman of the RNC
A position previously held by Ronna McDaniel – who was also endorsed by Trump. https://t.co/F12nShKnTz pic.twitter.com/Vg9HrTZZgg
— Michael Hustus 🇺🇸 (@HustusMichael) July 25, 2025
And let’s not forget that @GovGoneWild was one of the few to vote against the map [he was in the House at the time] that would have given Dems control of Congress. He suffered retaliation from the speaker at the time. Whereas Gruters voted FOR the map that would have denied… https://t.co/vFmuMZIAnq pic.twitter.com/y3BH8stUGx
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) July 18, 2025
Whatley reportedly does intend to step down and run for Senate, although no announcement has yet been made. “I’m looking forward to advancing President Trump’s America First agenda as the next Chair of the RNC,” Gruters told the Florida Phoenix. “He is the greatest President in our nation’s history, and I’m ready to serve, fight, and win for our party and our country.”
