Ashley Moody on Foreign Policy: The Foreign-Aid Rescission, the Venezuela and Boat Strikes, and Ukraine

Florida Senator Ashley Moody voted for the July 2025 law that canceled roughly $8 billion for foreign assistance programs, after casting a vote that let the Senate take it up on a 50-50 tie broken by the Vice President, and she voted against four amendments to keep money for disease programs, UNICEF, Europe and the U.S. Institute of Peace. She also cast a vote that, with the Vice President's, killed a Venezuela war powers resolution in January 2026, and voted against stopping the boat strikes and against two amendments backing aid to Ukraine. In April 2026 she voted for the point of order that ended Senate debate on a Cuba war powers resolution.

Moody voted to confirm Christopher Landau as deputy secretary of state and Russell Vought as budget director. The State Department then laid off more than 1,350 employees, and Vought's office moved to revoke nearly $5 billion in foreign aid Congress had approved.

Ashley Moody's Votes on Foreign Aid, Venezuela, Ukraine and the State Department

• Moody Voted to Cancel About $8 Billion in Foreign Aid in July 2025. On July 17, 2025, Ashley Moody voted for H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act, which passed 51 to 48, after she had voted to take the bill up on a 50-50 vote broken by the Vice President, a vote that would have failed without hers. The law canceled roughly $8 billion for foreign assistance programs, including $500 million in global health funding, money Congress had approved months earlier. It came after the State Department took over programs previously run by the U.S. Agency for International Development and shut the agency on July 1, 2025.
• Moody Voted Against Keeping Money for Disease Programs, UNICEF and the Institute of Peace in July 2025. During the July 16-17, 2025 debate on the Rescissions Act, Moody voted no on four amendments to keep money the bill canceled: for programs addressing diseases, for assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia, for UNICEF and other international organizations, and for the U.S. Institute of Peace. The Europe amendment failed 49 to 50, so a yes vote from Moody would have kept that money in the law. PATH, a global health nonprofit, said the law ended up rescinding $500 million in global health funding.
• Moody Cast One of the Votes That Killed a Venezuela War Powers Resolution in January 2026. On January 14, 2026, eleven days after United States forces raided Caracas in an operation named "Absolute Resolve", Moody voted yes on a point of order that ended Senate consideration of a resolution to remove forces from hostilities against Venezuela that Congress had not authorized. The vote was 50 to 50 and the Vice President broke the tie, so the resolution would have survived without Moody's vote. Cuba said 32 of its personnel were killed in the raid, and Havana declares two days of mourning for the Cubans killed in US operation, Al Jazeera reported.
• Moody Voted Twice Against Stopping the Boat Strikes and Military Action Against Venezuela in 2025. Moody voted no on October 8, 2025 on taking up a resolution to remove forces from hostilities Congress had not authorized, after a month of strikes on boats in the Caribbean, and again on November 6 on a resolution covering hostilities within or against Venezuela, which failed 49 to 51. The first strike, on September 2, 2025, killed 11, and by October 2026 the campaign had reached 79 strikes and 238 killed, including at least 22 people who had survived an initial strike only to be hit again or die at sea, the Associated Press reported.
• Moody Voted to End Debate on a Cuba War Powers Resolution in April 2026. On April 28, 2026, Moody voted yes on a point of order that ended Senate consideration of a resolution to remove forces from hostilities within or against Cuba that Congress had not authorized; it passed 51 to 47. Under a fuel blockade, Cuba had completely run out of diesel and fuel oil amid a US blockade by May 2026, The Guardian reported.
• Moody Voted Against Barring Last-Minute "Pocket Rescissions" of Foreign Aid in January 2026. On January 30, 2026, Moody voted no on waiving budget rules for Senator Jeff Merkley's amendment "to prevent the deferral or rescission of appropriations within 90 days of their expiration." It failed 47 to 52. In August 2025 the administration had moved to yank nearly $5 billion in foreign aid already approved by Congress this way, and the Supreme Court's interim order allowed President Trump's administration to withhold more than $4 billion in foreign aid funding until the money expired.
• Moody Voted Twice Against Backing Continued Support for Ukraine in 2025. On February 21, 2025, Moody voted no on a budget amendment "to ensure continued United States support for the Government of Ukraine to stand firm against aggression by the Government of Russia in Europe," which failed 47 to 53. On April 4, 2025, she also voted against an amendment "to prevent any disruption in security assistance to Ukraine," which failed 48 to 51. Between those votes the administration suspended military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, then lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing on March 11, 2025, the Associated Press reported.
• Moody Voted Against Barring Strike Plans From Commercial Messaging Apps After the Signal Chat. On April 4, 2025, ten days after a journalist published the Signal chat about strikes in Yemen, Moody voted no on an amendment to protect service members "by prohibiting the use of any commercial messaging application to transmit information revealing the timing, sequencing, or weapons to be used during impending United States military operations." It failed 46 to 53. The Defense Department's inspector general later found that Secretary Pete Hegseth sent sensitive, nonpublic, operational information, including the quantity and strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory, which could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives.
• Moody Voted to Confirm the State Department Officials Who Carried Out Its Layoffs. Moody voted to confirm Christopher Landau as deputy secretary of state on March 24, 2025, and Michael Rigas as deputy secretary for management and resources on May 14, 2025. On July 11, 2025, the department sent layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers, and a year later NPR reported that more than 1,350 employees, including foreign services officers were laid off.
• Moody Voted to Confirm Russell Vought, Whose Budget Office Moved to Revoke Nearly $5 Billion in Foreign Aid. On February 6, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget. On August 29, 2025, the administration moved to revoke nearly $5 billion in foreign aid that Congress had approved, the pocket rescission the Supreme Court's interim order later let stand.
• Moody Voted to Confirm the Export-Control Official Who Licensed AI Chip Sales to China. On March 13, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Jeffrey Kessler as the Commerce Department's under secretary for industry and security, who runs export controls. Commerce began licensing Nvidia's H20 chips for China in exchange for 15% of their revenues from chip sales to China; the China page covers the details.
• Moody Applauded the January 2026 Raid on Caracas That Congress Never Authorized. On January 5, 2026, two days after the raid, Moody's office said she applauds this action taken by President Trump, and she said, "The world is safer today. Florida is safer today." She thanked the President, Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth. The operation was carried out without a vote of Congress, and Havana declares two days of mourning for the Cubans killed in US operation after Cuba said 32 of its personnel died. Nine days later Moody voted for the point of order that ended Senate debate on the Venezuela war powers resolution.

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Last updated: 2026-10-25

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