President-elect Donald Trump is considering tapping Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
CNN reported on the unconventional pick Monday, though Moskowitz tried to tamp down speculation Tuesday.
‘All rumor and conjecture. I have no plans on leaving Congress,’ he told reporters on Capitol Hill.
He later wrote on X: ‘I appreciate the speculation but I am staying in Congress and running for re-election. It’s an honor to serve the people of Florida’s 23rd district.’
While Trump has chosen several former Democrats for top positions, the choice of Moskowitz would be the Republican’s first of an individual who is still a member of the opposing political party.
He has famously engaged in bitter battles with top Republican James Comer, who called him a ‘liar and a smurf’ during a heated hearing into the Biden family’s business dealings.
Meanwhile, Moskowitz accused the chairman of ‘manipulating’ the American people to believe Biden did something wrong with his family’s money.
But despite his dust-ups with Comer, he does have a track record of working across the aisle with Republicans.
Moskowitz was tapped by Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to lead the state’s Division of Emergency Management starting in January 2019.
He was serving as a Democrat in the Florida House of Representatives at the time.
Moskowitz earned the nickname the ‘master of disaster’ for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and Florida hurricane response during his time running the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
President-elect Donald Trump (left) is pondering picking Democratic rep. Jared Moskowitz (right) of Florida to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency
He was credited with an effective COVID-19 vaccine rollout and defended DeSantis after 60 Minutes claimed the Florida governor engaged in a pay-to-play scheme with the Publix supermarket chain over vaccine distribution.
Moskowitz successfully ran for Congress in 2022 and won reelection to a second term last month.
Trump relocated to Florida from New York and has selected a number of Florida officials for Cabinet positions, including Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State.
He initially chose now former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general. When Gaetz bowed out, he was replaced by Florida’s former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Trump’s incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is a current Florida congressman.
And Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon.
The president-elect has tapped former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard – who now identifies as a Republican – to be Director of National Intelligence.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who first ran as a Democrat and then an independent for the White House this cycle, is now Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
But Moskowitz has been openly critical of Trump at times.
Democratic Rep. Moskowitz accused the chairman of ‘manipulating’ the American people to believe Joe did something wrong when he did the exact same
‘Nominating Tulsi Gabbard to lead our intelligence community is incredibly reckless. Putting someone with known sympathies for foreign adversaries is not putting America’s interests first – it’s putting our security at risk,’ the Florida Democrat said in an X post last month.
In April, Moskowitz swatted back at Trump, who had suggested that American Jews who vote for Democrats ‘should have their head examined.’
Trump was making that point after the left flank of the Democratic Party has shown more pro-Palestine views during the Gaza war.
The Democratic congressman pointed to Trump’s infamous November 2022 Mar-a-Lago dinner with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and anti-Semitic rapper Kanye West.
‘Had my head examined. All is well,’ Moskowitz posted to X. ‘I appreciate the President’s concern. When is Trump having dinner with Kayne and Nick Fuentes again?’ he snarked.