WASHINGTON – This morning, TIME Magazine named Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) to the 2025 "TIME100 Next" list.

An expansion of the TIME100 list of most influential people in the world, "TIME100 Next" highlights the 100 emerging leaders from around the world, who are shaping the the next generation of business, entertainment, sports, politics, health, science, activism, and more.

The full list and related tributes will appear in TIME's October 13, 2025, issue, with hard copies available on newsstands Friday, October 3, 2025. Digital copies are available now.

See TIME's feature on Congressman Donalds here or below:

The World's Most Influential Rising Stars – Byron Donalds 
Philip Elliot, Senior Correspondent
TIME Magazine  – September 30, 2025

Representative Byron Donalds—praised by President Donald Trump as one of his favorite members of Congress—has made a mark in a hurry. 

In the 2020 election, he positioned himself as the “gun-owning, liberty-loving, pro-life, politically incorrect” candidate, and won the GOP nomination to represent a reliably red district in Naples, Fla. Once in office, Donalds—who joined 138 other House Republicans in wrongly denying that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election—became one of the pluckiest defenders against Trump’s impeachment for the events of Jan. 6, 2021. 

Briefly in the mix to become House Speaker earlier this year, Donalds instead is running in 2026 to become the next governor of what he calls “the Free State of Florida.” Already a close ally, having spoken at rallies throughout the 2024 election cycle, Donalds would be a reliable partner for the Trump White House if elected governor—and may step up to become a steward of its legacy.

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