Ashley Moody on LGBTQ Rights: Her Suit Against the Federal Health Rule and Defense of Florida's Gender-Affirming Care Ban, Her Deciding Vote for Pete Hegseth, and Confirming Mehmet Oz

As Florida attorney general, Ashley Moody's office led the challenge to the federal rule against gender-identity discrimination in health care, and on July 3, 2024 a federal court stayed the HHS rule as applied to Florida; in April 2025 the Trump administration dropped its appeal, effectively giving a victory to Florida. Her office also kept up continuing litigation defending a state law banning gender-affirming care for minors, SB 254, and on August 26, 2024 a federal appeals court stayed the ruling that had blocked it, so that Florida can enforce SB 254 while the appeal goes on.

As a senator, on January 24, 2025, Moody cast the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, whose Pentagon began discharging transgender service members, and she voted to confirm Mehmet Oz, whose agency barred federal Medicaid funds for gender-affirming care for young people, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose Justice Department withdrew its brief against Florida's own Medicaid ban on that care and subpoenaed doctors who treat transgender youth.

Ashley Moody's Court Filings and Confirmation Votes on Transgender Health Care, the Military Ban and Federal Protections

• Moody's Office Sued to Block the Federal Rule Against Gender-Identity Discrimination in Health Care, and the Rule Never Took Effect in Florida. On May 6, 2024, as Florida attorney general, Moody's office filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services over its Section 1557 rule, which Roll Call described as a rule from the Department of Health and Human Services purporting to ban discrimination in health care based on gender identity; her office argued the rule would require insurers, and potentially the state, to cover transition care. On July 3, 2024 the court granted a preliminary injunction and stayed the HHS rule as applied to Florida. In April 2025 the Eleventh Circuit dismissed the federal government's appeal at the request of the Trump administration's HHS, effectively giving a victory to Florida, WUSF reported, so transgender patients in Florida never received the rule's protections against being denied care or coverage because of gender identity.
• Moody's Office Defended Florida's Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors and Limits for Adults, Which an Appeals Court Let Florida Enforce. As attorney general, Moody's office kept up continuing litigation defending a state law banning gender-affirming care for minors, SB 254, Roll Call reported. A federal judge ruled the law unconstitutional on June 11, 2024, and on Monday, August 26, 2024 the Eleventh Circuit, in a 2-1 order, stayed that ruling: The decision allows for Florida to enforce SB 254 while the appeal is pending, JURIST reported. SB 254 bans hormone replacement therapy for minors and limits transgender healthcare for adults, and under it doctors who violate the law can face imprisonment, fines and/or loss of license.
• Moody Cast the Deciding Vote for the Defense Secretary Who Began Discharging Transgender Troops. On January 24, 2025, Ashley Moody voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense; the vote was 50 to 50 and the Vice President broke the tie, so Hegseth would not have been confirmed without Moody's vote. Hegseth's policy holds that people with a history of gender dysphoria are "incompatible" with U.S. military service. After the Supreme Court let it take effect in May 2025, About 1,000 troops who previously self-identified now have to leave the military, and service members suing over the ban have now received notices starting involuntary separation. In a 2025 Gallup poll, 58% of respondents said they support admitting openly transgender women and men into the U.S. military.
• Moody Voted to Confirm Mehmet Oz, Whose Agency Cut Off Federal Medicaid Funds for Transgender Youth Care. On April 3, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Mehmet Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and he was confirmed 53 to 45. In August 2026 Oz's agency finalized a rule ending federal Medicaid and CHIP payment for puberty blockers, hormones and surgery for young people, and KFF counted about 130,000 young trans people with Medicaid or CHIP coverage in states without their own restrictions. In June 2025 the agency had also ruled that insurers are prohibited from covering gender affirming care as an essential health benefit in marketplace plans starting in 2026.
• Moody Voted to Confirm Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche, Whose Justice Department Dropped Its Brief Against Florida's Medicaid Ban and Subpoenaed Doctors. Ashley Moody voted to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general on February 4, 2025 and Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general on March 5, 2025. On February 28, 2025, Bondi's Justice Department withdrew the brief it had filed against Florida's Medicaid exclusion of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender patients, and Red Line for Civil Rights reported that the Division withdrew its brief with no explanation. In July 2025 the department issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics providing young people with gender-affirming care, KFF reported, and by 2026 at least 40 health care institutions have walked back the provision of gender-affirming care, cutting off patients who had been in treatment.
• Moody Voted to Confirm Doug Collins, Whose VA Phased Out Care for Transgender Veterans. On February 4, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs, and he was confirmed 77 to 23. In March 2025 the VA announced that it would phase out providing gender affirming care for transgender veterans, KFF reported.
• Moody Voted to Confirm Scott Kupor, Whose Office Dropped Gender-Affirming Care From Federal Employees' Health Plans. On July 9, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Scott Kupor as director of the Office of Personnel Management, and he was confirmed 49 to 46. Kupor's office removed the coverage from federal employee health plans for 2026, and for 2027 carriers must remove any exceptions process that had protected people already in treatment, according to KFF.
• Moody Cast One of the 50 Votes for Medicaid Cuts That Fall Hardest on LGBTQ Adults and People With HIV. On July 1, 2025, Moody voted yes on H.R. 1, which passed 50 to 50 with the Vice President's vote. LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ adults to use Medicaid as their main coverage, and Medicaid is also the primary insurance for Americans living with HIV, according to Williams Institute data reported by them.
• Moody Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Whose Department Shut the LGBTQ Youth Crisis Line for 14 Months. On February 13, 2025, Moody voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services. Kennedy's department ended the 988 crisis line's service for LGBTQ young people in July 2025, a line that had received over 1.5 million contacts since its start. The harm was transient: It was revived over a year later, on September 30, 2026, after pressure from Congress, KFF reported.

What the Federal Limits on LGBTQ Health Care Ashley Moody Backed Mean in Florida

• Care for transgender Floridians. Because the appeals court let Florida enforce SB 254, transgender minors in Florida cannot start hormone therapy and adults face new limits on care, and the federal Section 1557 protections that might have applied were stayed as applied to Florida.
• Insurance for Florida families. Floridians who buy marketplace coverage can no longer count on it for gender-affirming care, because insurers are prohibited from covering that care as an essential health benefit starting in 2026 under the rule from the agency led by Mehmet Oz, whom Moody voted to confirm.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ashley Moody on LGBTQ rights

Last updated: 2026-10-25

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