Washington, DC is a hive of activity, with overlapping confirmation hearings to elect Donald Trump to head various agencies. One of those concerns Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has been nominated to be Trump’s secretary of state, and his expected swift success in the confirmation process is creating a void in the Senate. Many have been keeping an eye on the Sunshine State to see where Gov. Ron DeSantis might turn when tasked with filling the vacancy.
The governor said he wanted to hold off on announcing an election from the time Rubio was impeached by Trump to prevent his choice from being made thrown into the media meat grinder – “where they’re just a pinata,” as he described it – but the call came just before opening. He has indicated to some members of Congress that he does not intend to remove a name from the House because of the narrow Republican lead in that chamber.
This was consistent with DeSantis expressing his desire to install someone who would play a key role in implementing Trump’s agenda. DeSantis had shortlisted a number of names as potential candidates. They included his lieutenant governor Jeanette Nunez, DeSantis chief of staff James Uthmeier and former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva. But this morning, DeSantis officially announced that the name that had always been considered the favorite was his choice.
Current Attorney General of Florida Ashley Moody is the selection take the Senate post. Moody, like her predecessor Pam Bondi, was well received in the state, a twice-elected attorney general who increased her support in her re-election, garnering voter support of 60 percent. In her speech after the announcement, she cited the relationship with the governor and joked that DeSantis rebuked her and said that as a former member of Congress, he wasn’t sure why she wanted the job.
Moody has reflected the strengthening of Republican influence in Florida and spoken out in court against many of DeSantis’ agenda items, and she fulfills the governor’s goal of choosing a figure who will keep those efforts going in D.C. Moody may have surprised some that she is also a trained accountant and mentioned that she is eager to work with DOGE in the Senate and shrink the federal budget.
To get a sense of Moody’s conservative foundation, all you have to do is look Associated Press reporting When they immediately highlighted the caseload that the news syndicate disapproved of, they noted that she campaigned for Trump’s 2020 election challenge and lost in an attempt to keep an abortion amendment off the ballot in Florida. But Moody has also opposed the Biden administration on a number of issues, such as vaccine mandates; She also fought for stricter immigration laws and fought the push for student loan forgiveness.
There is currently little concern about whether Marco Rubio’s successor will be a eternal conservative replacement. Governor DeSantis chose a solid leader from what has now become a solidly conservative state.
