Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody Tapped to Fill Rubio’s Senate Seat
(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has tapped Ashley Moody to fill Florida’s vacant US Senate seat, elevating a member of his own inner circle to a position where she’ll be counted on to be a loyal vote in favor of President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
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Moody, Florida’s attorney general, will replace Marco Rubio, who is expected to be easily confirmed as Trump’s secretary of State soon after the Jan. 20 inauguration.
The move comes after months of speculation and rumors about how DeSantis would play the politically powerful card placed in his hand by Rubio’s departure.
“She’s honorably served our people, as her time as Attorney General over these last six years,” DeSantis said at an Orlando press conference on Thursday.
DeSantis highlighted Moody’s record as a tough-on-crime attorney general who has fought COVID-19 restrictions from the federal government, “diversity, equity and inclusion” and “gender ideology.”
“She’s an outspoken proponent of the state of Israel, and has battled against anti-Semitism in the business and world of academia and even taken on the United Nations, which she has pledged as a senator to defund once and for all,” DeSantis said.
Moody, 49, was elected to be Florida’s top law enforcement officer in 2018, the same year DeSantis won his first term. She’s often appeared by the governor’s side and has backed his legislative and legal battles. During her time as Florida’s attorney general, Moody has tried to take legal action against President Joe Biden and the federal government over immigration, COVID-19 restrictions and the investigation into the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in West Palm Beach.
She filed a complaint against Starbucks for discriminatory ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ policies and supported DeSantis’ battle with the Walt Disney Company that started over the company’s criticism of the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.
Moody has been a staunch supporter of the president elect, calling for the Supreme Court to review the 2020 election results after Trump erroneously claimed he won.
“I’m ready to show up and fight for this nation and fight for President Trump to deliver the American First agenda on day one,” Moody said at the announcement.
While they are largely ideologically allied, DeSantis and Trump have had an contentious relationship since DeSantis ran against Trump in the Republican primary last year. As DeSantis weighed his decision, he was careful to say that whoever he picked should back Trump’s agenda in Washington. However, while many in the president-elect’s orbit — including billionaire backer Elon Musk — have suggested names, DeSantis has been clear the decision would be his own.
Several Trump allies initially floated the president-elect’s daughter-in-law and former Republican National Committee co-chair, Lara Trump, for the role. While she initially said she’d consider the Senate post, Lara Trump later removed herself from consideration.
DeSantis also avoided picking a sitting US House member, despite several Trump-allied Republicans having expressed interest in the job. DeSantis had previously told reporters Republicans in the US House couldn’t risk any further erosion to their already thin majority.
Under Senate rules, Moody will be able to hold the seat for nearly two full years. A special election will be held during the midterm elections in 2026 to fill the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
Moody’s appointment is unlikely to immediately clear the field for that election.
Republicans in the state have a deep bench of ambitious politicians who are already circling the seat. Among them is Representative Cory Mills, a Republican from central Florida who backed Trump over DeSantis in the presidential race, who previously said he planned to run for the seat no matter who DeSantis picked.
--With assistance from Alisa Parenti and Hadriana Lowenkron.
(Updates throughout)
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