DeSantis picks Moody to replace Rubio in the Senate

CV NEWS FEED // Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday he is nominating Republican Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate seat that will soon be vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL.

Moody has been a pro-life attorney general, also consistently standing up for protecting children against being subjected to “transgender” medical interventions.

She led the lawsuit Florida filed against the Biden administration in May 2024 over a “pro-LGBTQ rule that promotes subjecting children to ‘transgender’ procedures,” CatholicVote reported at the time.

>> FLORIDA, MOODY SUE BIDEN ADMIN OVER RULE PUSHING ‘TRANS’ ON KIDS <<

“Florida passed a law to protect our children from dangerous, irreversible gender-transition drugs and surgeries,” Moody said at the time. “Now, Biden and his federal bureaucrats are trying to go around our child-protection law to force the state to pay for puberty blockers and gender-transition surgery for children.”

After DeSantis announced he was nominating Moody, pro-life advocates praised the governor’s pick.

Students for Life America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins wrote on X, “This is GREAT news for the pro-life movement!”

“Moody fought hard against the deceptive & late-term abortion ballot initiative,” Hawkins added, referring to Florida’s failed Amendment 4, “as well as joined a lawsuit against Biden’s perversion of the ‘Pregnancy Discrimination Act’ to promote abortion.”

“She also stood up against the weaponization of government by the Biden-Harris Administration as they abused the ‘Pregnant Workers Fairness Act’ when it was twisted to embrace abortion,” continued Hawkins. 

The SFLA president wrote that Moody “is going to be a great pro-life champion in the Senate” and her team at the pro-life student organization “can’t wait to work with her!”

>> MOODY ANNOUNCES LEGAL VICTORY AGAINST PRO-ABORTION EXTREMISTS <<

Moody has served as Florida’s top prosecutor since 2019 and previously served for a decade as an elected judge on the Tampa-based Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

In a statement thanking DeSantis for her nomination, Moody promised to “bring the same persistence and passion and tenacity as a United States Senator that I have brought as Florida’s Attorney General.”

“Every day I go to work, every decision that I make,” Moody said, “I do so with the understanding that the people of Florida gave me this opportunity and I want to deliver on what I assured them.”

“It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as Florida’s Attorney General,” Moody wrote on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after her appointment was announced.

“Working right alongside [DeSantis], we moved the state in the right direction – fighting federal overreach, protecting children and families, and bolstering law enforcement to create a safe environment for business and tourism to thrive,” she continued.

“I’m excited to continue my service to the state I love in the U.S. Senate,” Moody added. “We have a lot of work to do to fix the mess created over the past four years, but now it’s time to focus on helping [Trump] build a #StrongerSaferAmerica.”

In his remarks announcing the pick, DeSantis indicated that he “initially put out several different criteria” to consider in appointing a new senator to replace Rubio.

“One, I want somebody that’s going to work with President Trump to deliver on the mandate he earned from the American people,” the governor said. “I want a senator that’s going to be willing to lean in against the excessive spending. I want somebody who understands the federal bureaucracy is run amok and must be held to account.” 

DeSantis added: “And we need somebody who understands the fight against illegal immigration, is willing to shut the border, and importantly, make sure any legal immigration of this country is putting Americans first.”

DeSantis stressed that the “final” criterion he used to narrow his shortlist of candidates to one was a need for “somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results on those important issues.” 

​​”This is a time for action and a time for Washington D.C. to deliver results to the American people,” the Florida governor also said during his address. “President Trump’s election was remarkable and he earned a mandate for change.”

“We as Republicans cannot squander this opportunity,” he emphasized. “And that means we need a Congress, both the House and the Senate, that will rise to the occasion and make history. No more business as usual in Washington, D.C.”