Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is considering replacing Senator Marco Rubio with Attorney General Ashley Moody, say insiders. There is no final decision yet, according to a senior state official and two others who asked to remain anonymous.
They also mention DeSantis is encouraging Moody to aim for the governor’s office, and that former House Speaker José Oliva is among other candidates under consideration.
Support for Moody is growing in Republican circles as DeSantis weighs his options. Rubio is reportedly President‑elect Trump’s choice for secretary of state, and DeSantis is expected to name someone soon. He told reporters last week that a successor is ready and will support Trump’s agenda when he assumes office.
Choosing Moody would create a vacancy in the attorney general’s office, and that spot may go to James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s chief of staff. According to one insider, DeSantis is leaning toward sending Moody to the Senate and appointing Uthmeier in her place.
DeSantis’s office has declined to comment, and Moody’s team has not responded. The senior official noted that anyone claiming inside knowledge is speculating.
When asked about consulting Trump, DeSantis replied that he had told the president‑elect the nominee would help deliver on the mandate given by the American people and must have strong principles and knowledge of Florida.
The appointed individuals would serve until the 2026 election, which will coincide with the gubernatorial race. Term limits prevent DeSantis from seeking a third consecutive term as governor.
Trump allies initially pushed for Lara Trump, daughter‑in‑law of Trump and co‑chair of the RNC, but after she withdrew, DeSantis continued to consider others. Trump publicly stated he did not expect Lara Trump to be chosen.
Should Moody and Uthmeier be appointed, two close DeSantis allies would fill the roles. Uthmeier, a Commerce Department veteran under Wilbur Ross, served as DeSantis’s general counsel before becoming chief of staff. He also clerked for Rubio from 2012 to 2014. DeSantis trusted him enough to oversee his struggling 2024 presidential campaign.
Moody, now 49, became attorney general in 2018—the same year DeSantis became governor and has been a staunch defender of his policies ever since. Her office blocked an abortion rights amendment from the 2022 ballot and defended using state funds to oppose it.
She supported DeSantis’s decision to transport undocumented immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 and California in 2023. In 2020, Moody backed Texas AG Ken Paxton’s suit contesting the 2020 election results, and she joined efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which the Supreme Court rejected in 2021.
A fifth‑generation Floridian, Moody follows in the footsteps of her father, federal judge James S. Moody Jr., and her brother, who was appointed to county and circuit courts by DeSantis. Their grandfather also served as a county judge.
Moody and family previously sued Trump over a failed Trump Tower Tampa project in 2004, settling in 2011.
Last week, Moody joined DeSantis and former AG Pam Bondi at the swearing‑in ceremony for Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez. Lopez replaced Andrew Warren after DeSantis suspended him in 2022, a move Moody defended.
Her office also filed a motion to prevent DeSantis and Uthmeier from testifying in Warren’s reinstatement lawsuit. The 11th Circuit recently dismissed that case as moot after Lopez’s election win.
At the ceremony, Bondi administered the oath, while Moody and Lopez’s mother held the Bible. DeSantis described the group as “a murderers’ row,” comparing them to the legendary 1920s New York Yankees lineup.
