Uthmeier worked from 2017 to 2019 in the U.S. Department of Commerce as a senior counsel and senior advisor in the Trump administration.[4][user-generated source?] He then joined the office of Florida governor Ron DeSantis as deputy general counsel in 2019,then was promoted in 2020 to general counsel.[4][user-generated source?] In October 2021,he was appointed chief of staff to the Governor,succeeding Adrian Lukis.[5] He remained as chief of staff until his appointment as attorney general and was succeeded by Secretary Jason Weida.[6]
On January 16,2025,Governor DeSantis announced his intention to appoint Attorney General Ashley Moody to the United States Senate to succeed Marco Rubio.[8] DeSantis also announced he would appoint Uthmeier to succeed Moody as attorney general,in the event of a vacancy.[9]
On February 25,2025,he filed paperwork to seek a full term in 2026.[11] The following day,Uthmeier released a new seal for the Office of the Florida attorney general,referencing the "Free State of Florida."[12]
In March 2025,Uthmeier opened a criminal investigation into social media personalities Andrew and Tristan Tate,saying:"We're going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable".[13][14] Despite the brothers' relocation to Las Vegas,Uthmeier confirmed his investigation would continue.[15] Andrew Tate criticized the investigation as "absolute communism."[15] On March 13,Andrew Tate returned to Miami and "taunted" Uthmeier to "arrest [him]."[16]
In June 2025,Uthmeier was held in contempt of court by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams for continuing to enforce a Florida immigration law that the judge had blocked in a previous ruling,which Uthmeier had directed state law enforcement to ignore and then boasted about in media interviews.[17] Regarding this,Uthmeier stated "If being held in contempt is what it costs to... stand firmly behind President Trump's agenda on illegal immigration,so be it."[18]
In late June 2025,Uthmeier announced his proposal to construct Alligator Alcatraz,an immigration detention facility to be located within the Everglades. The facility is located at the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport inside Big Cypress National Preserve in Ochopee,Florida.[19] Governor DeSantis mobilized construction on June 21,and the facility was officially opened on July 1. President Donald Trump,Governor Ron DeSantis,Secretary of Homeland Security Kristy Noem,and other state leaders attended the opening ceremony. Trump praised the new compound,saying,"It might be as good as the real Alcatraz."[20]
During the 2025 legislative session, Uthmeier was involved in a controversy surrounding the transfer of $10,000,000 from a Medicaid settlement to a political committee he controlled.[21] The funds were initially directed to go to the Hope Florida Foundation, but were immediately transferred by the Foundation to two separate groups, both of whom sent the funds to Uthmeier's political committee.[22]
Uthmeier was accused by legislators of committing "money laundering and wire fraud"[23] for his role in directing the Medicaid settlement as Governor DeSantis's then chief of staff, then soliciting the applicants who requested the funds of the Hope Florida Foundation, both of whom immediately transferred the funds to a bank account within his control.[24]
On May 20, 2025, it was announced that a criminal investigation into the movement of the funds was open and ongoing.[25]
State Representative Alex Andrade, who led the Florida House's investigation into the scandal, was quoted as saying: “In the real world, if someone defrauded the state or a charity out of $10 million, they’d go to prison. Certain bad actors within the DeSantis administration lied about the use of these funds and conspired to funnel this money to a PC [political committee]. Those people deserve to go to prison.”[26]
▌2 Unknown (2 territories) An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity. State abbreviations link to position articles.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
