Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday reappointed Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich to the state ethics commission months after Republican leaders refused to confirm her to the post, citing fears of unethical lobbying.
This is the third time DeSantis has appointed Descovich, a former Brevard County School Board member, to the commission in charge of investigating complaints against public officials. And though the GOP-led Senate declined to confirm her in March, Descovich is confident things will be different in the upcoming legislative session.
"I do believe the Senate will confirm me," Descovich said in an email to The Floridian. "I have a proven record of serving on the commission for over a year now and they would have a hard time finding a good reason to not vote for YES at confirmation."
The Senate has yet to confirm Descovich, who serves as the Executive Director of Moms for Liberty, despite her three appointments to the Florida Commission on Ethics over the past year and a half.
DeSantis first appointed Descovich to the commission in Sep. 2023, though the Senate unexpectedly diverged from the governor during her confirmation hearing six months later and refused to confirm her. They pointed to an unnamed Senator's fears that her ties to the DeSantis-aligned Moms for Liberty could constitute "lobbying the legislature" and a citizen complaint claiming her presence "politicized" the process.
Descovich, who is not registered as a lobbyist, has denied ever working as one. The practice is banned for Ethics Commission members.
The failed confirmation didn't faze the governor, who quietly reappointed her to the post in April to serve out the remaining two months of her term. Though her term expired in June, Florida law allows most board members to continue to serve until a successor is named.
In December, Descovich was unanimously elected as the commission's Vice Chair.
With her term now expired, DeSantis on Friday reappointed Descovich—again—to serve on the board. According to a source familiar with the process, DeSantis would be prohibited from reappointing her to the commission for a year if she is not confirmed by the end of the 2025 legislative session.
If she is, her term would expire on June 30, 2028.
Moms for Liberty, a conservative parental rights group, gained popularity under the DeSantis administration for its opposition to certain lessons on race and sexual orientation in schools. The group has close ties to the governor, with members including Esther Byrd, wife of Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, who was appointed to the state Board of Education, and co-founder Bridget Ziegler, who joined the board overseeing Walt Disney World’s special district in central Florida.
Both Ziegler and her husband, former GOP Chair Christian Ziegler, came under heavy fire for a sex scandal involving a threesome and an alleged rape, though the charges were dismissed.
The regular legislative session begins March 4.
