Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday state attorney general Ashley Moody will be taking Marco Rubio’s spot as Florida senator.
The governor had been debating his choice for months and made the announcement at a press conference in Orlando, just days before Rubio is likely to be confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of state on Monday.
DeSantis said in the announcement that one of the most “significant” issues over the past four years has been illegal immigration – and that his pick will be good on immigration policies, will “cut spending” and work to enact Trump’s agenda.
He had said Wednesday he didn’t make the announcement sooner because he didn’t want the media to make them a “pinata” and attack them for months before Rubio is sworn in.
The Senate pick will have to go through a special election in November of 2026 to keep their seat, and another election is scheduled for 2028.
DeSantis met with Trump several times in recent weeks, going golfing with him and meeting with him at a governor’s dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
The two have been repatching their icy relationship that developed in the 2024 election, and have been warm with each other in recent months.
Trump daughter-in-law and former Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump has been angling for the position after Rubio was announced as secretary of state, but she dropped her name out of the running.
