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 will replace President-elect Trump’s secretary of State pick Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the Senate. DeSantis said on Thursday that Moody would “mostly likely” be sworn in on Monday afternoon, following Trump’s inauguration.
Her appointment marks Moody’s foray into the Washington scene, but she has long been rising in the legal and political ranks of Florida.
During his announcement DeSantis noted that Moody is a member of a fifth-generation family from Plant City, Fla., located in Hillsborough County. She is the daughter of senior U.S. District Court Judge James Moody, who represents the state’s Middle District. Moody attended law school at the University of Florida and holds a masters in international law from Stetson University.
She began her legal career at the firm Holland and Knight and went on in 2006 at the age of 31 to become the youngest judge in the state when she was elected Circuit Court Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, according to the state attorney general’s website.
In 2018, Moody was elected to serve as the state’s attorney general. She succeeded former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department.
Moody has a long history of supporting Trump in her role as Florida’s top prosecutor. In 2020, she supported Trump by backing the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit that aimed to overturn the results of 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.
But she 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.
Moody’s nomination has been met with praise from other Republicans, including Florida’s former governor and soon-to-be senior Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
“Ashley has done an incredible job fighting for Floridians and keeping our communities safe as Attorney General. I have no doubt she will do an incredible job as senator!” Scott said in a post on X.
National Republican Senatorial Campaign Chair Tim Scott (R-Fla.) praised Moody as a “proven conservative fighter for President Trump’s agenda” in a statement on Thursday.
“As Attorney General, she has been a national leader on border security, a champion of safe streets, and an unyielding defender of the rights of Floridians,” Scott said. “As a mom of two, she understands the importance of our Republican Majority’s mission to deliver generational opportunities for families.”
Moody will serve in the Senate for the next two years, but it’s unclear whether she will run again for the seat in the 2026 midterms. Florida Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who was also considered for the position by DeSantis, said last week “you can probably guarantee my hat is going to be thrown in the ring for 2026.”
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