- Ashley Moody, a strong ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been named to take the place of Sen. Marco Rubio if he's confirmed.
- Moody was elected as Florida Attorney General in 2018 and she was reelected in 2022.
- Prior to her role as attorney general, Moody served as a federal prosecutor and was also the youngest judge in Florida.
As Florida Sen. Marco Rubio continues through the nomination process as President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of State, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced his pick to replace the senator.
If Rubio is confirmed, it will leave an open seat for DeSantis to fill until an election in 2026. On Thursday morning in Orlando, DeSantis named Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to take Rubio’s place.
According to Fox News, Moody, 49, has been a key ally of DeSantis, working with him to fulfill his agenda as governor.
“I will not let the citizens of Florida down, and I will not let my country down,” Moody said after DeSantis introduced her as his pick to replace Rubio, according to The Washington Post. She ended her remarks by saying, “America first, let’s get it done.”
How long has Ashley Moody been Florida’s attorney general?
Moody was elected to be Florida’s attorney general in 2018, the same year DeSantis was elected to the governor’s office, per NBC. She was reelected to the position in 2022.
During her time in office she has been a defender of the governor’s policies and actions.
Before becoming attorney general, Moody worked as a federal prosecutor in Florida, and was the youngest judge in the state after she was elected to the Hillsborough County Circuit Court, according to The Washington Post. Both her father and late grandfather also served as judges.
Why DeSantis chose Ashley Moody
DeSantis introduced Moody as an ally of Trump’s agenda and “praised her as someone with a record of opposing undocumented immigration, ‘woke ideology’ and the policies of President Joe Biden,” per The Washington Post.
The governor said he chose Moody over other candidates because she gets things done.
“I wanted somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results on those important issues. Talk is cheap,” DeSantis said, per Fox News.
What has Moody done as Florida’s attorney general?
As the state’s attorney general, Moody’s office recently sued in order to keep an abortion rights amendment off Florida’s ballot in November, per The Washington Post.
She also supported DeSantis when he used state funds to fly undocumented immigrants from Texas to California and Martha’s Vineyard as a way to make a political point about immigration.
In October, Moody’s office filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice over the federal government trying to block Florida from investigating the September assassination attempt against Trump which happened in West Palm Beach, per NBC.
Moody also sued the Biden administration in an effort to block a rule that she claimed would force doctors to provide gender transition care against their judgement.