On July 1, 2025, Florida Senator Ashley Moody voted against an amendment to strike the federal private-school voucher tax credit from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the amendment failed on a 50-50 tie, so a switch by her alone would have removed the credit. She then voted for the bill, which from 2027 gives a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 per donor for private school scholarships with no national cap, and in August 2025 she said in Tampa, "Today, I am delivering on that promise as we expand school choice nationwide."
Two weeks after the vote on the bill, Moody voted against keeping the $1.1 billion Congress had approved for public radio and television, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shut down. In Tallahassee, WFSU then said nearly two dozen positions across all departments will be eliminated. Moody also voted to confirm Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose department cut its staff by nearly half, from 4,133 employees to 2,183.
Ashley Moody's Votes and Statements on School Vouchers, Public Broadcasting and the Education Department
- Moody Cast a Deciding Vote to Keep an Uncapped Federal School Voucher Tax Credit in July 2025. On July 1, 2025, Ashley Moody voted no on Senator Mazie Hirono's amendment to eliminate a program of qualified elementary and secondary education scholarships for private schools. It failed 50-50, so one more vote would have removed the program. Moody then voted yes on the final bill, which passed 50-50 with the Vice President's vote. Starting with the 2027 tax year, the credit pays back donors dollar for dollar, up to $1,700 per donor, and the final law discards the budgetary safeguard included in the House version, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Families earning up to 300 percent of their area's median income qualify, which EdTrust says is about 90% of all families in the U.S.
- Moody Voted Against Restoring $1.1 Billion for Public Radio and Television in July 2025. On July 16, 2025, Moody voted no on an amendment to strike the rescissions of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from the rescissions bill; it failed 47-52. The next day she voted for the bill, which passed 51-48. The law took back $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting through September 2027, and the corporation that sent that money to more than 1,500 local stations shut down.
- Moody Voted Against Protecting Children's Educational Programs and Rural Stations in July 2025. On July 16, 2025, Moody voted no on Senator Ed Markey's motion to remove any rescissions that would reduce access to children’s educational programming through public television stations, and the same day against motions to spare stations that serve rural areas and Tribal communities (roll call 395) and stations that relay emergency alerts (roll call 396). Earlier that year the Education Department had already canceled the 2020-25 Ready to Learn grant that paid for PBS Kids shows such as "Molly of Denali."
- Moody Voted Twice Against Safeguards for School Lunch and Breakfast. On February 21, 2025, Moody voted no on allowing Senator Chris Van Hollen's amendment to create a point of order against legislation that would cut funding from the school lunch or school breakfast programs, a procedural barrier to such cuts, and it failed 49-51. On April 22, 2026, she again voted no on a similar school-meals safeguard (roll call 93), which failed 48-50. The 2025 law's food-aid changes reach school meals because free meals depend on how many children receive SNAP, and more than 1 million American children have lost access to SNAP, Stateline reported.
- Moody Voted to Confirm Linda McMahon, Who Cut the Education Department Nearly in Half. On March 3, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education; on August 1, 2025 she voted to confirm Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, and on October 7, 2025 she voted to confirm civil rights chief Kimberly Richey and K-12 chief Kirsten Baesler (roll call 547). In March 2025 the department cut its workforce by nearly half, from 4,133 employees to 2,183, and the Supreme Court later said the layoffs may proceed. Its Office for Civil Rights dismissed more than 6,000 complaints without investigation; before 2025, about 12,000 complaints were pending, more than half about students with disabilities. By June 2026 the department was transferring two of its main responsibilities, special education oversight and civil rights enforcement, to other agencies, and it had canceled grants for some 120 TRIO programs that help low-income and first-generation students.
- Moody Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Whose Department Closed Half of Head Start's Regional Offices. On February 13, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, in a 52-48 vote. In April 2025 five out of 10 regional Head Start offices were abruptly closed and their staff let go; the closed offices oversaw nearly 318,000, or 44 percent of, funded slots nationwide, according to the Center for American Progress.
- Moody Celebrated the Voucher Credit With Linda McMahon in Tampa in August 2025. Ashley Moody said "Today, I am delivering on that promise as we expand school choice nationwide" on August 6, 2025, at a Tampa event with Education Secretary Linda McMahon celebrating the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's scholarship tax credit. That statement endorsed the uncapped credit described above, which takes money from the federal Treasury for private school scholarships; the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes the final law discards the budgetary safeguard included in the House version.
What the Cuts to Public Broadcasting and Schools Ashley Moody Voted For Mean for Florida
- Private school vouchers. Florida opted in to the federal credit; the IRS lists it among the participating states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho and others, June 2026), so Florida donors can claim the federal credit from 2027.
- Tallahassee public media. WFSU Public Media, run by Florida State University, said nearly two dozen positions across all departments will be eliminated and projected an estimated $2.8 million loss in funding by next July, after the federal CPB money ended and Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed state money for public media. WFSU's work includes political coverage and emergency storm reporting.
- Space Coast public radio. WFIT in Melbourne cut three staff, which represents a 50% reduction in staffing: with the loss of CPB funding and the state veto, the radio station is losing an annual total of $240,000.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ashley Moody on Education
What is Ashley Moody's record on education under Trump?
Ashley Moody cast one of the votes that kept the federal private-school voucher credit in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, where the amendment to remove it failed 50-50, voted for the law, and then celebrated the credit with Linda McMahon in Tampa. She voted to end federal money for public radio and television, after which Florida stations such as WFIT in Melbourne cut staff. She also voted to confirm Linda McMahon and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose departments cut Education Department staff nearly in half and closed half of the regional Head Start offices.
Did Ashley Moody vote to cut funding for PBS and NPR?
Yes. Ashley Moody voted on July 16, 2025 against the amendment to keep the $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and on July 17 for the rescissions bill that took it back. One motion she voted against that day would have spared stations licensed to or primarily serve rural areas or Tribal communities.
Does Ashley Moody support federal school vouchers?
Yes. Ashley Moody voted on July 1, 2025 against removing the federal voucher tax credit from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and because the amendment failed on a tie, her vote alone could have changed the outcome. EdTrust says that with no cap the credit could cost the federal government as much as $56 billion annually.
What happened to the Education Department under the officials Ashley Moody confirmed?
Ashley Moody voted to confirm Linda McMahon, and under her the department cut its workforce nearly in half and by 2026 was transferring two of its main responsibilities to other agencies. About 12,000 complaints were pending at its civil rights office before 2025, more than half about students with disabilities, and the office then dismissed thousands without investigation.
Last updated: 2026-10-25