Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced on Thursday that he has tapped his chief of staff James Uthmeier to be the state’s next attorney general.

DeSantis made the remarks after he announced that he had selected Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the U.S. Senate after he was nominated to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of State.

“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,” he continued. “I’m not going to make any appointment before it’s available, but I think that’s something that will happen.”

While Uthmeier waits for the appointment to become official — which will happen after Rubio is confirmed by the U.S. Senate — he did release a statement thanking the governor.

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“I’m honored and humbled to be appointed by @GovRonDeSantis as the next Attorney General of the Free State of Florida,” he wrote on X. “I’m excited to get to work, build on @AGAshleyMoody’s fine record, help enact the @realDonaldTrump agenda, and defend our people, our constitution, and our Florida way of life!”

I’m honored and humbled to be appointed by @GovRonDeSantis as the next Attorney General of the Free State of Florida.

I’m excited to get to work, build on @AGAshleyMoody’s fine record, help enact the @realDonaldTrump agenda, and defend our people, our constitution, and our…

— James Uthmeier (@JamesUthmeierFL) January 16, 2025

Jeanette Nuñez, the Lieutenant Governor of Florida, praised the pick, saying that Uthmeier “will be a fantastic Attorney General.”

“Floridians can count on you to protect our state, defend the rule of law, and uphold the Florida Constitution,” she added.