A senior adviser in former President Donald Trump’s administration launched a political action committee Thursday calling on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, to run for president in the 2024 election.

Ken Cuccinelli served as the acting deputy secretary of homeland security in the Trump administration as well as Virginia attorney general and a Virginia state senator. NEVER BACK DOWN PAC specifically is calling on DeSantis to lead the Republican Party to victory over President Joe Biden.

“I have been speaking to many grassroots conservative activists around the country who are very enthusiastic for Governor DeSantis to run for President in 2024,” Cuccinelli said in a Thursday statement. “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.”

“Based on those conversations, I am most confident that we will build an unmatched grassroots political army for Governor DeSantis to help carry him to the White House,” he added.

Team DeSantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Signal. In an ad accompanying the announcement, Cuccinelli promises to have DeSantis’ back, calling for fresh conservative leadership and praising DeSantis’ record.

Then-acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli speaks about immigration policy at the White House during a briefing Aug. 12, 2019, in Washington, D.C. During the briefing, Cuccinelli said that immigrants legally in the U.S. would no longer be eligible for green cards if they utilize any social programs available in the nation. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The ad does not specifically mention Trump, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Signal.

Trump has raised eyebrows by criticizing DeSantis, also rumored to be considering a 2024 run for president, calling the Republican governor “Ron DeSanctimonious” and describing him as “an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations.”

NEVER BACK DOWN PAC is also led by Chris Jankowski, who backed the development of the Republican Attorneys General Association, the Republican State Leadership Committee, and a Republican strategy known as the REDMAP project, according to a press release from the new PAC.

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