TALLAHASSEE – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to the United States Senate seat being vacated by US Senator Marco Rubio.

In response, Florida Watch Deputy Director Natasha Sutherland issued the following statement:

“Ashley Moody’s time as Attorney General of Florida has been defined by her multiple failures on behalf of the people of our state.

“When property insurance companies ripped off their policyholders, Moody failed to take action to stop them. When wealthy corporations stole from hardworking Floridians, Moody failed to fight for the wages they had earned. And when state government has silenced the voices of its citizens, torn away their freedoms, operated in secrecy, violated the Constitution, and denied health care access to vulnerable children, Ashley Moody failed to do her job as the people’s lawyer and instead fought for the corporate elite and politicians against the best interests of Floridians every step of the way.

“Working families and seniors in Florida deserve a true champion committed to lowering costs, raising wages, and defending our freedoms, but unfortunately all they’ll have is Ashley Moody in the United States Senate.”

The state’s attorney general is supposed to work on behalf of the people against corporate interests seeking to exploit workers and seniors, to stand up for the freedoms of everyday Floridians, and to fight for transparency in government to prevent public corruption. Throughout her time in office, Attorney General Ashley Moody has taken the opposite approach.

1. Moody has refused to investigate as property insurance companies in Florida have ripped off policyholders by refusing to pay legitimate claims in the wake of natural disasters.
2. Moody has repeatedly failed to hold large corporations accountable for wage theft in the state, despite the Attorney General’s office being empowered to fight for workers.
3. Moody fought to uphold Florida’s near-total abortion ban and to keep Amendment 4, that would have limited government interference with abortion, off the ballot.
4. Moody has consistently sided with monopoly utility corporations and the fossil fuel industry to fight against proposals that would lower costs for consumers and ease the transition to a clean energy future.
5. Moody joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which would have raised the cost of health care and ripped away access from millions of Floridians, while also working to kick thousands of children off of their state-sponsored KidCare plans.
6. Moody has led an effort to destroy government in the sunshine in Florida, backing Governor DeSantis’ arguments that executive privilege allows him to deny public records requests, although that right does not exist in the state’s constitution.
7. Moody has spent millions of taxpayer dollars through her own office and hiring outside law firms to defend unconstitutional laws in court pushed for and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.

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Florida Watch is a communications and research organization that serves as the progressive community’s in-state hub for message development, digital communications, and research. Florida Watch keeps an eye on everything that goes on in our state to hold our elected officials accountable when they support laws and policies that make it harder for everyday Floridians to be healthy, prosperous, and safe.