DeSantis picks Florida AG Ashley Moody to replace Rubio in Senate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has tapped the state’s Republican attorney general, Ashley Moody, to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the Senate following his nomination to serve as President-elect Trump’s secretary of State.

DeSantis said during an announcement with Moody in Orlando that he expects her to be swiftly confirmed and that she will “mostly likely” be sworn in on Monday afternoon, following President-elect Trump’s inauguration.

“I’m happy to say we’ve had an attorney general who has been somebody that has acted time and time again to support the values we all share,” the governor said, citing Moody’s work on opioids, immigration, leading Florida’s investigation into the second Trump assassination and pushback to federal investigations into Trump.

Moody touted her support of Trump in her remarks following DeSantis’s announcement,

“I will bring the same persistence, passion and tenacity that I have brought as attorney general as a United States senator,” she said.

Florida’s soon-to-be senior Sen. Rick Scott (R) said in a post on X that he has “no doubt she will do an incredible job as senator,” while National Republican Senatorial Campaign Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) praised Moody as a “proven conservative fighter for President Trump’s agenda.”

Moody emerged as a front-runner for the position in recent weeks. A number of other names were floated for the position, including Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez (R) and the governor’s chief of staff, James Uthmeier. DeSantis also said he had spoken with Reps. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.) about the post but raised doubts about plucking a lawmaker from the House given the razor-thin GOP margin in the chamber.

It’s unclear whether Moody will run for the seat again in 2026, but Mills has said “you can probably guarantee my hat is going to be thrown in the ring for 2026.”

Moody was elected to serve as the state’s attorney general in 2018. She succeeded former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is Trump's nominee to lead the Justice Department. Prior to her tenure as the state’s top law enforcement officer, Moody served as judge of Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

The state attorney general stands to be a staunch ally of the president-elect in the Senate. In 2020, she supported Trump by backing the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit that aimed to overturn his loss in the presidential election that year. And last month, she charged Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump at one of his Florida golf courses, with attempted felony murder.

Moody has not always been a vocal Trump supporter. She accused the president-elect of fraud related to a real estate deal in a 2009 federal lawsuit. However, after backing Trump, she said in 2017 that the matter had no bearing on her support for him.

“This matter had absolutely no bearing on my family’s support of our President during the election, and I continue to support him and his agenda in Washington,” Moody said in a statement to Politico at the time.

—Updated at 11:15 a.m.

Topics

DeSantis picks Ashley Moody, Florida attorney general, to replace Rubio in Senate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that Ashley Moody, the state's attorney general, will replace Marco Rubio in the Senate.
CBS News - 20m
Who is Ashley Moody? DeSantis' pick for Rubio's Senate seat explained

The Florida attorney general will serve as U.S. senator until the next general election in 2026 when the seat returns to the ballot.
CBS News - 25m
Ron DeSantis picks Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill Marco Rubio's Senate seat

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday appointed state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, setting her up to fill Sen. Marco Rubio's seat when he joins the Trump administraiton.
NBC News - 40m
Who is Ashley Moody, Rubio's replacement in the Senate?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R ) appointed the state’s Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) to the Senate on Thursday, catapulting a rising star in Florida politics into the national spotlight. Moody ...
The Hill - 1h
Will Ashley Moody, DeSantis' Rubio replacement, be another Trump ally in Senate?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has selected Ashley Moody, the Sunshine State's attorney general, to replace Sen. Marco Rubio as he vies for the secretary of state role. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane reports.
CBS News - 1h
DeSantis appoints Florida AG Ashley Moody to U.S. Senate

Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio.
NBC News - 2h
DeSantis picks Florida AG Ashley Moody to fill Marco Rubio's Senate seat

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday chose the state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to take the Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of ...
CBS News - 2h
DeSantis picks Florida AG Ashley Moody to replace Rubio in the Senate

The seat will open up soon, with Rubio on a glide path to become Trump’s secretary of State shortly after he is inaugurated.
Politico - 4h
Watch live: DeSantis announces Rubio's replacement to Senate

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Thursday morning where he named a replacement for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was tapped by President-elect Trump to lead the State Department. ...
The Hill - 3h