TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis' chief of staff, James Uthmeier, was sworn in Monday as Florida’s 39th Attorney General.

Uthmeier takes over the position from Ashely Moody, who the governor selected to replace Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate.

Now the U.S. Secretary of State, Rubio was the first of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks to be confirmed by the Senate.

Before serving as chief of staff to DeSantis, Uthmeier served in the Florida Office of General Counsel, where he oversaw litigation and legal work for the governor and state executive agencies.

After graduating from the University of Florida and Georgetown Law, Uthmeier began his career as a litigation associate at the Washington D.C. office of Jones Day, according to UF, before he went on to serve as a senior advisor and counsel to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

Uthmeier is also an adjunct professor at Florida State University College of Law.

“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,” said Uthmeier.

Uthmeier is a longtime DeSantis administration ally. Speaking Monday, DeSantis said Uthmeier was instrumental in many legislative victories, as well as the defeat of Amendment 3 or Amendment 4.

“I have no doubt if he does even a fraction as attorney general of what he did in our administration, you guys are going to be very, very pleased,” said DeSantis.

Uthmeier is vowing to tackle a slew of issues, including immigration. He vowed Monday to back the “America First” agenda and target cartels and traffickers.

“We will not stand idly by as the left tries to infiltrate our institutions and use the court system to indoctrinate our kids,” he added.

Florida Democrats rebuke the pick. They’ve accused Uthmeier of misusing tax dollars and government resources to combat ballot amendments on abortion and recreation marijuana,

“He’s shown he is willing to do anything, including breaking the law to keep his mob boss happy,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried.

Uthmeier will serve two years in the office. He’ll need to run and win to secure a 4-year term.