Marco Rubio has been sworn in to be Donald Trump's new secretary of state, and another familiar Florida name has joined the Senate in his place.

Roth previously worked for Ron DeSantis in the House. Ray has worked for years in for the Florida Attorney General's Office.

The Florida attorney general will serve as U.S. senator until the next general election in 2026 when the seat returns to the ballot.

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

Moody, a Republican from Plant City who was in her second term as Attorney General when Gov. Ron DeSantis picked her to replace Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is on five panels, where her previous roles will inform her legislative work. Her experience as a jurist will surely come into play on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

U.S. Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL), one of the newest members of the Senate, has secured influential committee assignments that will position her to advance President Donald Trump’s nominees and legislative priorities.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday named state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the US Senate, choosing a staunch ally to fill the seat set to be vacated by Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state.

Moody, 49, becomes the second woman to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate, after Paula Hawkins, a Republican who served one term in the 1980s.

But he has nothing to complain about in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ choice of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. Her credentials as a full-bore MAGA Trump loyalist are impeccable. She signed on to a stolen election lawsuit that one of her top deputies called ...

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody delivers remarks after Governor Ron DeSantis announced her appointment ...

Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C., to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s absence in the U.S. Senate.

Vice President J.D. Vance swore in the former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody as a new senator this week. The Senate seat was filled as Rubio was confirmed to be President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State. Read: As Trump, Desantis threaten mass deportations, Florida business experts concerned — but skeptical