TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The state of Florida has a new attorney general.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday the appointment of James Uthmeier to take over as the state's chief legal officer.
WATCH BELOW: Gov. DeSantis appoints new Florida attorney general
The position has been vacant since the governor appointed former Attorney General Ashley Moody last month to take over the open U.S. Senate seat following Marco Rubio's confirmation as U.S. secretary of state.
Uthmeier, 37, has been DeSantis' chief of staff since 2021. He previously served as general counsel to the governor.
"This was not a very difficult decision for me to put James as the next attorney general because I know he's got the foundation," DeSantis said.
Uthmeier was sworn in just after 10 a.m. during a ceremony at the Florida Historic Capitol Museum in Tallahassee.
"I promise to you and the people of Florida that I will endeavor every day to do what is right and to levy justice where it is due," Uthmeier said in remarks after his swearing-in ceremony. "We will use the office of the attorney general to punish criminals, to protect the innocent and to stand boldly by our brave law enforcement."
Uthmeier also said in his role as attorney general his department would "champion an America First agenda."
"We will not stand idly by as the left tries to infiltrate our institutions and use the court system to indoctrinate our kids," Uthmeier said. "We will fight the activists that try to weaken our duly enacted laws that try to challenge our constitutional order and that try to harm the unborn."
The Florida Democratic Party pushed back on Uthmeier's appointment, saying it was "weaponizing" the judicial branch. Read their full statement below:
"James Uthmeier's confirmation as Attorney General today is the clearest example of weaponizing the judicial branch of government," FDP Chair Nikki Fried said. "As Chief of Staff, James was the architect of the state’s multi-million dollar political campaign using taxpayer dollars to defeat Amendments 3 and 4 and deny Floridians their freedom. He’s shown he is willing to do anything including breaking the law to keep his mob boss happy. While I'm sure James is relieved to be getting out of the Governor’s office after negotiating a peace treaty in the Republican civil war, his confirmation today should be concerning to all Floridians — bringing us one step closer to totalitarianism in the state of Florida."
