Examining Florida Sen. Ashley Moody’s first year in office

In January 2025, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed then-state Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill the seat of Republican Marco Rubio, who resigned to become secretary of state in President Donald Trump’s administration, until the next statewide election. According to a VoteHub analysis, Moody voted 100% of the time with Trump in her first year in the Senate, backing his cuts to health care programs and tariffs that have driven up costs for Floridians.

A Moody spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

As Florida’s attorney general from 2019 to 2025, Moody had a consistently right-wing record. She declined to defend a Florida law prohibiting open carry of firearms, backed an unsuccessful constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act, opposed reproductive rights, defended an Escambia County Public Schools book ban, and joined an unsuccessful Texas lawsuit aimed at overturning Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. 

Her Senate record has had the same right-wing focus. Here is what Moody has done in her first 15 months in Congress.

Health care

In July 2025, Moody voted for H.R. 1, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, a budget reconciliation package that included about $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and other federal health programs over a decade, eliminated federal funding for Planned Parenthood, preserved tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and increased the national debt. According to the Federation of American Hospitals, the health care cuts are projected to strip Medicaid coverage from 200,000 Floridians. 

“Today is a historic moment for the American people—especially Florida families who will have thousands of their hard-earned money back in their pockets following the passage of the monumental One Big Beautiful Bill,” Moody said in a press release. “We are finally putting an end to the Biden-era madness.”

With fewer Floridians insured by Medicaid and other health insurance programs for low-income families, hospitals in Belle Glade, Homestead, and Miami are now at heightened risk of closing or reducing services, according to the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.

In December, Moody voted against a bill that would have extended an expiring enhanced tax credit that helped make premiums more affordable for those who purchase health insurance through ACA marketplaces. According to the Florida Policy Institute, 20% of Floridians — about 4.7 million people — had ACA marketplace plans in 2025. 

Between the expiration of ACA subsidies and the cuts to Medicaid, about 1.5 million Floridians will likely lose their insurance coverage by 2034, according to a KFF analysis. 

Moody is a co-sponsor of the Association Health Plans Act, a bill to expand the availability of cheap insurance plans that cover fewer health care costs for patients. According to a July 2025 legislative alert by the AFL-CIO, “These plans drive up premium costs for people who are included in the pools, and they present considerable risk for those who are enrolled in their coverage.”

Affordability 

Though he promised during his 2024 presidential campaign to immediately lower costs for consumers and end inflation, after his inauguration Trump announced tariffs on foreign goods and services, including a 10% tariff on goods imported from nearly every country and higher tariffs on goods from selected countries. 

Moody backed Trump’s tariffs. “Here we are now with a president who is engaging in good faith with so many nation-states around the world and saying, Look, we have got to readdress where America sits in terms of how we’re dealing with trade with other countries. It’s only fair,” she told Fox Business in October. 

In a February 2026 ruling, the Supreme Court said Trump illegally imposed those tariffs by claiming emergency powers he does not have under the law. Prior to that decision, Moody repeatedly voted against legislation that would have rescinded Trump’s tariffs and ended the national emergency he declared to justify them. 

Trump’s tariffs fueled inflation, raising costs for American households by an average of $1,000 in 2025 and were expected to cost more in 2026, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation found..

Consumer prices climbed even higher in March 2026 after Trump launched military attacks on Iran, leading Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key fuel transportation route between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman leading to the Indian Ocean. Moody defended Trump’s actions in Iran, posting on X, “When someone says they want to destroy you, you should listen, and we have a President that did just that.”

On March 18, Moody voted against a resolution that would have directed Trump to end attacks against Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.

Reproductive rights

According to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Moody has voted for reproductive rights 0% of the time in the Senate. She cast votes against legislation to expand access to in vitro fertilization, restore federal funding of Planned Parenthood, and fund international family planning programs. 

In December, the Trump administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs issued a rule making it harder for veterans to access abortion care or counseling. On March 25, Moody voted against a measure to overturn the restriction.

Moody is seeking a full term in the November election.

In an August 18 Republican primary, Moody could face challenges from candidates including office manager Ashley Baptiste, tech consultant Chris Gleason, insurance agent Michaelangelo Hamilton, and far-right activist Jake Lang.

Democrats will select their nominee on the same day. Former National Security Council member and retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman announced his candidacy in January. Other Democratic candidates, including state Rep. Angie Nixon, former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, civil engineer Alex Gould, and technology executive Hector Muijica, have also announced they will seek the nomination.