DeSantis announces choice for Senate appointment after Rubio's expected resignation

The governor selected Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to be the next senator. 

Moody has been a key ally of DeSantis in the state and worked in tandem with him to facilitate his agenda as governor. 

During his Thursday announcement, DeSantis said, "So this is something that I thought about long and hard. We did a lot of research. We got a number of great candidates throughout the state of Florida, and many of them, I think, could have done a good job. But the final criteria I used was because you can say all those things and say you stand for it - I wanted somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results on those important issues. Talk is cheap."

"We need people that have demonstrated fidelity to these principles with their actions. So that is why today I'm proud to announce that I am selecting our Attorney General, Ashley Moody, to serve as our next U.S. senator," he told attendees. 

Moody accepted the challenge and thanked the governor for choosing her. "Thank you so much. I will bring the same persistence and passion and tenacity as a United States senator that I have brought as Florida's Attorney General," she said.

"If you have worked with me and fought with me over the last six years, you know, I don't think of this as a job. I think of it as a calling," she explained. 

"After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate," she wrote on X. 

DeSantis added on Thursday that he expects to appoint Moody to the Senate the afternoon of Jan. 20, after Trump is sworn in to office. 

"We anticipate Senator Rubio to get confirmed very quickly after the inauguration of the 47th president, President Trump," he said. 

DeSantis further thanked Rubio for his service as a senator. "I want to thank Senator Rubio for his service in the United States Senate. I think he will serve the country ably as Secretary of State and, we need it, because the last four years has been a total disaster under the Biden-Harris administration," the governor said.