The president "cares about New York and the Southern District the most. You see he spent more time in Palm Beach than New York or anywhere else since he became president,” one source told POLITICO. | Lynne Sladky/AP Photo 'Apprentice' contestant, Sen. Cotton pal emerge as Trumpworld favorites for top South Florida prosecutor job

MIAMI — Two young Cuban-American Republicans from Miami are leading contenders to be South Florida’s top federal prosecutor in what, sources tell POLITICO, is one of the most important federal jurisdictions to Donald Trump because it covers his home away from the White House, Mar-a-Lago.

Both state Rep. Jose Felix "Pepi" Diaz, 37, and John Couriel, 39, have interviewed with the Justice Department and were recommended, along with longtime attorney Jon Sale, for the Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney post by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, said sources familiar with the process. They say Trump, who has allowed too many federal vacancies to remain open, wants to make a choice soon.


Diaz is seen by some as a slight favorite because he has had a personal relationship with the president since 2006 when he was a contestant on Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice.”

But others point out that Couriel has a strong backer in Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Couriel’s longtime friend and old Harvard classmate who was an ally of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he served as Alabama senator. He has Federalist Society and top administration lawyers advocating for him.

"It will probably be him [Couriel] unless Trump really likes Diaz from the show," one insider said of the buzz in the White House and Justice Department.

But another Republican familiar with Trump's thinking said that much of the pick will rest on who the president likes most.

“John is great, but ‘Pepi’ probably has an edge because personal relationships matter to Trump,” said one source who didn’t want to be identified.

“There’s no guarantees about anything or who gets the job until there’s an announcement,” the source said. “This is important to the president. He’s paying attention to this. He cares about New York and the Southern District the most. You see he spent more time in Palm Beach than New York or anywhere else since he became president.”

Trump is spending the Easter weekend in Mar-a-Lago, his seventh visit to the private club he's dubbed his Winter White House.

The Southern District of Florida nagged at the Trump Administration earlier this year when questions arose about how the region’s former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta — now Trump’s hand-picked Labor Secretary — declined prosecute a pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, a Palm Beach resident and acquaintance of both Trump and former President Clinton.

Federal investigators in the district, which is awash in money from overseas investors who include a number of wealthy Russians, are expected to play a role in the probe of the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia’s government.

Neither Diaz, an Akerman lawyer, nor Couriel, an attorney at Kobre & Kim, would speak about their discussions with the Justice Department.

Diaz was interested in filling Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s seat if she left to work in the Trump White House.

Rubio only recommended Diaz, Couriel and Sale for the job.

These three aren’t the only potential candidates.

Attorney Roy Altman was interviewed Friday at the Justice Department. And South Florida’s legal community has advanced a field of other rumored candidates. One longshot new name: Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, a Democrat who had declined to prosecute Trump’s former campaign manager for battery. He counts Bondi as a friend and has spoken recently to administration officials, sources say. Aronberg couldn’t be reached for comment.

Still, because of the importance of deferring to home-state senators, Rubio’s list of three names has added importance. Sale, a friend of former U.S. Attorney Rudy Guiliani, has produced less buzz in Miami’s close-knit Republican circles, although backers point out he was a federal prosecutor. Couriel also worked in the office as a prosecutor.

“Couriel knows the ropes in the office and Cotton. Diaz knows Trump,” said a second source familiar with the discussions with the Justice department. “John went to Harvard. Pepi went to Columbia. They both have real pluses. It’s a win-win for the president.”

Of the two, though, only Diaz knows what it’s like to shoulder Trump’s disapproval. He was bounced from the Apprentice in Season 5’s second episode, The Razor’s Edge.

Diaz has remained friendly with Trump and buttonholed him for a Jan. 18 White House selfie at the inauguration.

“Just ran into the first guy who ever fired me,” Diaz tweeted. “The next president of the United States @realDonaldTrump #Apprentice #POTUS #ElPresidente.”

Former Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer stepped down March 3 after serving nearly seven years in the job.