NBC News

Moody, 49, has served as Florida attorney general since 2019, easily winning two statewide elections for the position.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, setting her up to fill the seat of Sen. Marco Rubio, whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to be secretary of state.

Rubio was selected to serve in Trump’s administration shortly after Trump won the 2024 presidential race, handing DeSantis a Senate appointment that is likely to have ripple effects across Florida government and politics.

It has widely been expected in recent weeks that Moody would be the pick, while others, including Reps. Kat Cammack and Cory Mills, did talk to DeSantis about the position. DeSantis had said publicly he had reservations about appointing a member of the House because of the GOP’s slim majority in that chamber.