DeSantis announced he is appointing Ashley Moody to replace Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ announcement that he’s appointing Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio places the 49-year-old Plant City native in an exotic locale far from home.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will succeed Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate, Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday.

Moody, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis announced as the replacement for future Secretary of State Marco Rubio once the exiting Senator is confirmed by his soon-to-be-former colleagues next week, will be buoyed by the eponymous Moody for Florida committee, according to Federal Election Commission records.

After Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was tapped for consideration as the nation’s next secretary of state, all eyes have been on Gov. Ron DeSantis and the power he has to appoint a new leader to Rubio’s seat.

Moody, a former prosecutor and judge, has a record of “delivering results,” DeSantis said as he announced his choice at an Orlando hotel.

Gov. Ron DeSantis praised Moody, who has served as Florida's attorney general since 2019, for fighting against policies he described as part of the Democratic Party's "woke agenda."

DeSantis said he wanted an appointee who would be strong on immigration enforcement, support cutting the federal bureaucracy and fight “the woke agenda.”

Sen. Marco Rubio has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be secretary of state giving Gov. DeSantis a pick to fill his seat.

Florida Democrats are reeling from decisive 2024 election losses — defeats that solidified the state’s red status and sent many state Republicans off to Washington with big plans to spread conservative policy nationally.

Vice President JD Vance might be first in line for the most powerful job in the world, but only this week did he get a glimpse of the Oval Office.  It has been a whirlwind week for the 40-year-old vice president as President Trump began the start of his second term.

Bills on abortion and immigration provided a glimpse into how Democrats will approach the second Donald Trump presidency.