Gov. DeSantis announces who will fill Rubio's Senate seat

box alert Governor de santis announcing who will replace Marco Rubio let's listen in we can't choose the easy path here we must be able to do what it takes make the hard decisions necessary to usher in a Revival of the American experiment now president Trump's election was remarkable and he earned a mandate for Change and yes the results themselves winning the popular vote winning the swing States uh was certainly something that's noteworthy but was more noteworthy is no candidate has ever had to endure a flurry of bogus prosecutions and two assassination attempts and having the

entire Legacy Media apparatus doing everything they can to prevent his return to office so we as Republicans cannot squander this opportunity and that means we need a congress both the house and the Senate that will rise to the occasion and make history no more business is usual in Washington DC now of all the issues that the American people rendered a verdict on there's perhaps no issue that's been more significant over these past four years than immigration in the open Southern border the American people do not want to have our borders opened we are a Sovereign

Nation and we must control who comes into our country on the terms that we as Americans said that means we not only need to support president Trump's agenda to secure and shut the border uh but we also make we need to make sure that we're enforcing the laws inside the United States we've called a special session of the Florida legislature because Florida is going to be working with the Trump Administration to make sure our immigration laws are enforced I don't want to see some illegal alien gang uh just be able to operate rate and then

you only do anything once they've already committed serious crimes identify them and get them out of the country we must make illegal immigration illegal once again the other issue that clearly animated voters momentous decision in November uh is the economic crunch facing people all across the United States of America this economic crunch is governmen induced it's we are currently now thanks to Federal policies locked in a vicious cycle of deficits debt money Printing and crushing inflation we need Republicans in the Congress to stop this spending spree once and for all downsize the federal government eliminate

wasteful programs abolish certain agencies and empower the states to to take over the functions that our founding fathers originally intended Florida has shown that this can be done we have cut taxes every year since I've been Governor uh I have had the opportunity to veto billions and billions of dollars in wasteful spending and we have paid down 36% of the state's historical debt from the 1840s to the present we've paid down 36% just since 2019 and it's not an accident that because of those policies since I took office in 2019 Florida leads the nation in

economic growth amongst all 50 states we've shown it can be done they need to get it done we also have a a mandate as Republicans to restore our constitutional order our founding fathers never intended there would be a fourth branch of government uh this sprawling administrative permanent bureaucracy we cannot tolerate a massive concentration of power that is unaccountable to the American people we must reconstitution ISE this federal government we also understand the role that the courts particularly Supreme Court Justices play in enforcing the Constitution and particularly the Constitutional limits on federal power uh we need

a senator that understands the important role that Senate plays in confirming Supreme Court Court appointments as well as lower courts and the model for justices need to be justices like Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito finally Republicans must fight the woke agenda and they must defeat the radical left Florida has fought and won against the woke agenda uh we have won time and time again against the political left and right now the Democratic party in this state lies in Ruins and we are a solid Republican state which people didn't think was possible even five years ago

at the national level we need to rid our institutions federal agencies universities corporations of the pernicious woke ideology and woke agenda we need to restore common sense and we need to restore basic American principles throughout our society once again now in appointing a US senator uh I initially put out several different criteria uh one I want somebody that's going to work with President Trump to deliver on the Mandate he was he earned from the American people I want a senator that's going to be willing to lean in against the excessive spending uh and cut spending

uh and and stop the inflation I want somebody that understands that the federal bureaucracy is run a muck uh and it must be held to account and we need three branches of government not four branches of government and we need somebody that understands the fight against illegal immigration is willing to shut the border and and importantly make sure any legal immigration to this country is putting Americans first can't be bringing foreigners in to displace our own people in key positions 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 uh could have done a good job but the 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

us [Applause] so so many of you know her she's obviously been on the ballot twice uh Statewide and won big victories she's honorably served our people as her time as a attorney general over these last six years she's a fifth generation native of Plant City Florida uh in the Tampa Bay area and even what was named Queen of the famous Strawberry Festival back in her youth she's a triple Gator graduate of the University of Florida and she's built an impressive resume as a commercial litigator and as a federal prosecutor when she was an assistant us

attorney here in the Middle District of Florida she handled gun and fraud cases later uh when she was in the Tampa Narcotics Division she was recognized for her prosecutorial Excellence uh by federal agencies in 2007 she became Florida's youngest circuit court judge at the tender age of 31 where she championed initiatives for atrisk children and expanded access to legal representation for vulnerable Floridians uh and that's all great uh but really where the rubber overheats the road is once you get an opportunity to serve Statewide in the State of Florida and be the Attorney General uh

are you just biting your time or are you making the most of it uh to deliver big things for the people that sent you there and I'm happy to say we've had an attorney general who has been somebody that has acted time and time again to support the values that we all share whether that's illegal immigration opioid INF fenal crisis human trafficking uh she has stood strong time and time again most recently in this past year filing lawsuits and joining lawsuits to take on the weaponization of law enforcement that targeted then candidate Donald Trump she

took on Jack Smith for his politically motivated persecution of the former president fought back against the Rogue Attorney General of New York for her politicizing justice led the Florida investigation into the second Trump assassination attempt in Palm Beach even as the federal government continues to try to block her efforts uh she's been a national leader and fighting the Biden Administration on many different fronts uh including on immigration she's not only filed more than a dozen separate lawsuits uh but she's actually won against Biden uh with his Reckless border policies uh she's demanded appropriately the impeachment

of Alexander mayorcas and the designation of Mexican drug card S as foreign terrorist organizations uh in her role as AG she has stood strong for Law and Order she believes in putting criminals in jail not releasing them back onto the street will they will offend again she does not support soft on crime leftist prosecutors in fact uh we have removed prosecutors here in the State of Florida and she has stood with us uh every step of the way and we have won those lawsuits uh as a result of their her efforts she's also rejected Dei

ESG gender ideology and supported our efforts to ensure Florida's education is free from impositions of the radical left when covid was raging few were willing to stand up across this country we in Florida establish our state as a beach head of Liberty as the free state of Florida and she was with us every step of the way we beat the Biden Administration that had continued to keep our cruise lines closed and we liberated the cruise industry because of her lawsuit we also beat Biden on the in on the employer vaccine mRNA mandate which was going

to have people lose their jobs if they didn't take this shot that many people didn't want so her efforts were really critical in achieving those success uh for medical Freedom she was also a staunch opponent and help us defeat amendments three and four in the most recent November election she sued in the Supreme Court against Harvard's race-based affirmative action discrimination admission process she shed Biden Administration to prevent brutal transgender surgeries on these minor kids uh and she challenged the Federal creditor system to Free University from politicized leftist accreditors she's also fought to strengthen the security

Integrity of our elections here in the State of Florida which we treat uh very significant she has led prosecutions of voter fraud cases against illegal aliens who voted here in the State of Florida she's also supported other states as they attempt to secure their their election systems um including in Virginia where she urged the Supreme Court to uphold their removal of legal aliens from the voter roles when it was revealed that FEMA Aid workers under President Biden discriminated against Trump supporters who were impacted by last year's hurricanes here in Florida she filed a federal civil

rights lawsuit against those who were responsible and Florida Still Remains the first and only state to hold these people accountable for their political discrimination she's an outspoken proponent of the state of Israel and has battled against anti-Semitism in the business world acad IA and even taken on the United Nations which she has pledged as a senator to defund once and for all she has fought against overreaching federal agencies like the ATF the EPA and the FDA to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans and to prevent bureaucratic entities from encroaching on our god-given freedoms and then

when it comes to our nation's foremost adversary China uh Ashley has been in integral uh in our state's effort to defend Florida against Chinese influence she defended our laws preventing China from purchasing land in the State of Florida she worked with the Florida pension fund to devest State Holdings from China and Chinese companies and she opposed China's ability to spy on Americans uh through the use of social media apps so every major battle we have had since I have been Governor uh she has been with us every step of the way it's not just talk

uh its results and these results are very very important and she understands the gravity of the moment we may not have an opportunity like this uh in the near future this is a once in a decade maybe even once in a generation opportunity uh in this current Congress is ultimately going to determine uh whether we do usher in that Revival of the American experiment or is it just going to be status quo passing the buck and nothing ever changes uh so I'm pleased to be able to introduce to you for her first words as the

uh senator appointee from the state of Florida our attorney general and your next United States Senator Ashley Moody thank you sorry I didn't well hello thank you so much for joining Us in true Governor fashion he gave me a mere couple of hours to figure out what I was going to say to you but that is because he is deliberate and takes nothing lightly and understands the importance of this role Governor I want you to know I will not let you down I will not let the citizens of Florida down and I will not let

my country down it was just six years ago that I met this very eager passionate guy who wanted to be the governor of Florida and said if we go in there and we Implement conservative policy if we scale back make sure we return this to a limited government we will prosper and look at what Florida has done since we we lead the nation and N in migration new business formation and Law and Order I can go on and on and it has been at the leadership and direction of with this guy right here and I

am proud not to just say I I have fought alongside you for six years but I'm proud to call you a friend and I am very honored with this nomination 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 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 uh every day I go to work every decision that

I make every person I hire I do so with the understanding that the people of Florida gave me this opportunity and I want to deliver on what I assured them and that was we were going to protect their rights we were going to protect the autonomy of this state we were going to protect our communities and I believe that we have done that and I think we have to take that same direction to the United States Senate this guy used to be in Congress and he says to me and has said to me I don't

know why anybody would want that [Laughter] job I said to him I kind of agree with you Governor I don't know if you can tell but I'm pretty energetic I like to get things done focus on problems solve the problems deliver those to the people that hired you your bosses the citizens and there's a lot of Deadlock in Washington and then I thought more about that and I thought if every person with the same energy the same love the respect for our founding principles the ideals on which this country was built on if every person

likeed that with that personality said I don't think I'd like serving in Congress then we'd never change that culture and so you're probably right I probably won't like it but I'm ready to show up and fight fight for this nation and fight for president Trump to deliver the American first agenda on day one what has angered me the most as attorney general as I have had to fight the Biden Administration over the last four years when we have seen policy after policy after rule after financial decisions spending out of these agencies as the agencies have

gotten bigger as they have taken more power as they have tried to tell the states what to do more and more and more all that does is take the the will of the people the want of the people through their elected representatives in Congress and turns this into a country we don't even recognize anymore and whether it's agencies making these decisions when lawmakers should unelected bureaucrats or whether it's International organizations making decisions that our lawmakers should we cannot stand for that the only way to return this country to the people the people who govern it

is to make sure we have a strong Congress doing its job passing laws and actually approving the regulations that these unelected bureaucrats are trying to cram down on the American people and I pledge to you as a United States Senator supporting the rains act supporting any effort to rain back in our out of control federal agencies make sure politics is pushed out of it make sure we bring down spending I am all for that and I've got the backs of the American people Doge and president Trump on that I am driven by many things in

life I will bring the influence of many things uh in my life my experiences certainly but I am driven by my faith in God first and foremost I am driven by the fact that I am a mother and I still have a kid in school and whether it was protecting children from social media from the dangers of fitting all the poison that's being pushed into our nation as the result of a wide openen border whether it's protecting our soldiers the oldest boy in our family is a soldier so whether it is supporting them while they

are abroad or after they come home I have their backs and last but not least God has blessed me with an amazing husband who with me Justin when I told him I wanted to leave the bench now mind you I may be the first Senator Governor I don't know if this went into your plan he was most excited I'm a trained accountant so I can shrink the bloat of the federal government but but I also served over a decade in the Judiciary I have now served in the executive branch I may be the only United

States Senator that is now in my third branch of government and bringing all of that with me to the role so there's the news uh the irony here Dana is that in 2018 she succeeded Pam Bondi wonner Race by six points was reelected in 2022 wonner Race by 15 points so the news is out I'm Steve duy I'm Brian kilme and I'm Angley aart and click here to subscribe to the Fox News YouTube page to catch our hottest interviews and most compelling analysis