While DeSantis had said earlier he would appoint Uthmeier to succeed former Attorney General Ashley Moody, he made it official during a brief ceremony at the Old Capitol. DeSantis last month appointed Moody to the U.S. Senate, after Marco Rubio was picked by President Donald Trump to become U.S. secretary of state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday named his former chief of staff, James Uthmeier as Florida’s attorney general, handing the state’s top law enforcement role to a trusted aide who has helped orchestrate and defend some of his most divisive initiatives.

. @GovRonDeSantis has bestowed a duty on me to protect the Free State of Florida. My promise as your Attorney General is that I will endeavor every day to do what is right and levy justice where it is due. No empty rhetoric. No posturing. No excuses. pic.twitter.com/e5FKQL4rx6