Trump appoints Joe Gruters to White House Homeland Security Council

Joe Gruters’ close alliance with President Donald Trump continues to pay dividends for the Sarasota Republican state senator.

Gruters will serve on the “revamped” Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), led by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the president announced on Thursday.

Other members of the new committee include South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, conservative talk show host Mark Levin, and former Fox News contributor Bo Dietl.

“Under Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s leadership, HSAC will work hard on developing new Policies and Strategies that will help us secure our Border, deport Illegal Criminal Thugs, stop the flow of Fentanyl and other illegal drugs that are killing our Citizens, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Congratulations to all!,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social Page.

Gruters, a former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, has served in the Florida Senate since 2018 and in the Legislature since 2016. His alliance with Trump began before that, as he was named co-chair of Trump’s first presidential campaign in Florida in Fall 2015 (along with Susie Wiles, now Trump’s White House chief of staff).

Trump has already endorsed Gruters’ campaign for Florida Chief Financial Officer for 2026.

“When President Trump asked me to run for Chief Financial Officer of Florida, I immediately said ‘yes’ knowing you never pass up an opportunity to serve the President and the great state of Florida,” Gruters said in a written statement. “The same goes with this appointment. There is nothing more important than the safety and security of the American people and I accept this appointment with the gravity it deserves.”

According to a press release issued from Gruters, the Homeland Security Advisory Council:

• Provides organizationally independent advice and recommendations to the Secretary, including the creation and implementation of critical and actionable policies for the security of the homeland.
• Conducts research and provides policy analysis and recommendations on a variety of security issues.
• Evaluates the impact of security related public and private policies in an attempt to formulate prospective security policies.

Gruters has been a candidate for CFO since last June – months after Trump publicly urged him to run for the seat, saying on his Truth Social page, “Joe was on the ‘Trump Train’ before it even left the station and, if he decides to run, he will have my Complete and Total Endorsement.”

The Florida Chief Financial Officer seat remains vacant, weeks after Jimmy Patronis resigned before his election to Congress on April 1. Although Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he would select an interim CFO before choosing a successor to fill out the remaining year-and-half term, he has yet to do so.

Gruters will most likely not be that pick. He and DeSantis have never been close, and they clashed a year ago regarding Amendment 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational cannabis in Florida.