MIAMI — President Donald Trump nominated Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez as the next U.S. Ambassador to Brazil on Monday, sending to the Senate one of Miami’s most powerful Republicans to lead Washington’s most consequential diplomatic post in South America ahead of Brazil’s October presidential election.
The White House announced the nomination via press release on Monday. Perez has represented parts of Miami-Dade County in the Florida House since winning a special election in 2017, and has served as Speaker of the Florida House since November 2024 — making him one of the most powerful Republicans in Tallahassee.
A first-generation Cuban American who grew up in the Miami-Dade suburb of Westchester, Perez solidified himself as one of the most powerful Republicans in Florida during his tenure as Speaker — and, for much of that tenure, one of Governor Ron DeSantis’ most formidable intra-party opponents.
A Miami Republican in Brasília
The nomination is notable on multiple levels. Perez is an attorney, a Catholic, and a product of Miami’s Cuban-American Republican establishment — the same political ecosystem that produced Senator Marco Rubio, whose influence looms over the appointment.
Among those who attended Perez's speaker swearing-in ceremony were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz, Panama Ambassador Kevin Marino Cabrera, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Rubio connection matters in the context of Brazil.
Rubio has been among the most aggressive voices in the Trump administration on Brazil policy — backing Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign, supporting the PCC and Comando Vermelho terrorist designations announced last Thursday, and pushing for closer security cooperation with Brasília.
Sending a Rubio-aligned Miami Cuban American to the U.S. Embassy in Brazil signals that Washington intends to maintain maximum pressure on the Lula government through October’s election.
Perez will be term-limited from his Florida House seat in November, making the ambassadorship a natural next step. He joins a pattern of Miami-based Latin American community figures receiving Trump ambassadorships in the hemisphere: Cuban-born Miami businessman Bernie Navarro was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Peru in February 2026, and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera was named U.S. Ambassador to Panama in May 2025.
The Brazil Context
The nomination arrives at a moment of acute tension between Washington and Brasília. The Trump administration designated Brazil’s PCC and Comando Vermelho as foreign terrorist organizations last Thursday, a move the Lula government said amounted to electoral interference.
U.S.-Brazil relations have been strained since mid-2025, when Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods after the White House accused the Lula government of undermining democracy through the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
With Brazil’s presidential election set for October 2, 2026, and polling showing Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula in a statistical dead heat, the U.S. Embassy in Brasília will be one of the most politically sensitive diplomatic posts in the hemisphere.
Perez’s nomination must still be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Sociedad Media is an independent digital publication covering Latin American politics, culture, including developing events out of Brazil.
Our reporting follows strict impartiality standards.
