Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, and the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump explores ways to keep Tiktok.

Stories in this Episode of Political Connections

DeSantis appoints AG Ashley Moody to replace Marco Rubio in U.S. Senate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday his pick to replace Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is likely to be confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump's Secretary of State.

Speaking in Orlando at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, DeSantis selected Florida's Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Rubio in the U.S. Senate, joining Florida Sen. Rick Scott.

Moody became Florida's 38th Attorney General on Jan. 8, 2019. The University of Florida grad was born in Plant City and was elected Circuit Court Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County in 2006 at the age of 31. 

During her time as attorney general, she focused many of her efforts on tackling the opioid crisis and human trafficking. 

Following DeSantis, Moody took to the podium and pledged to not let Floridians, and the country, down. 

"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," Moody expressed. 

Moody will likely become the second woman to serve as U.S. Senator in Florida. Paula Hawkins was the first woman to serve one term from 1985 to 1987. 

DeSantis also mentioned during the press conference that he is likely to replace Moody with his Chief of Staff James Uthmeier.  

Trump adviser says president-elect is exploring options to 'preserve' TikTok

Trump's pick for national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, said in an interview on Wednesday that the president-elect is exploring options to "preserve" TikTok.

Waltz made the comment when Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked him about a report from The Washington Post that said Trump was considering an executive order to suspend enforcement of a federal law that could ban the popular platform nationwide by Sunday.

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to the statute brought by TikTok, its China-based parent company ByteDance, and users of the app. The Justices seemed likely to uphold the law, which requires ByteDance to divest TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban in one of its biggest markets.

"If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he's going to protect their data," Waltz said.

"He's a deal maker. I don't want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we're going to create this space to put that deal in place," he added.

Separately on Wednesday, Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for attorney general, dodged a question during a Senate hearing on whether she'd uphold a TikTok ban.

Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content that was often macho and aimed at going viral. He pledged to "save TikTok" during the campaign and has credited the platform with helping him win more youth votes.