Gov. DeSantis says James Uthmeier will be next Attorney General

With Attorney General Ashley Moody headed to the U.S. Senate to replace Marco Rubio, who will be Secretary of State in the Donald Trump administration, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that his Chief of Staff will become the state’s new top cop.

“My Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, is kind of like Ashley. He’s proven himself in these fights,” DeSantis said in Orlando.

“I think he’s got big shoes to fill, but I think he’ll do a good job doing that. So you can anticipate that. I’m not going to make any appointment before it’s available, but I think that’s something that will happen,” DeSantis added.

Uthmeier was appointed Chief of Staff in September 2021. He had been General Counsel since October 2020 and first began working in Gov. DeSantis’ legal office as Deputy General Counsel in March 2019.

He took breaks from the official position to help DeSantis’ campaign for President in 2023, serving as manager of the presidential effort. Uthmeier was also pivotal in the Governor’s efforts to stop amendments that would have removed state abortion restrictions and legalized adult-use recreational marijuana in 2024.

Uthmeier, a Destin native, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida before getting his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Before joining the DeSantis administration, Uthmeier served as a senior adviser and counsel to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and an associate at the law firm Jones Day.

The office is open in 2026, but the DeSantis appointee has the inside track.

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Florida Politics staff contributed to this report.

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