Ashley Moody has raised her Florida FEMA total five times since May

Her office's total keeps climbing

Sen. Ashley Moody announced Nov. 9 that she has secured more than $2.5 billion in FEMA disaster money for Florida, her fifth higher total since May. The money goes to the state and local communities for storm repairs, debris removal and emergency costs, and her office says Florida has waited on some of it since 2017.

Why it matters: FEMA's own records show about $2.2 billion of its aid first committed to Florida projects since Moody took office, by our arithmetic. The biggest shares went to recovery from Hurricanes Milton, Ian and Helene. Bartow's city manager said his city waited "18 months, maybe longer" for its share, Fox 13 reported.

The story so far: Gov. Ron DeSantis named Moody, then Florida's attorney general, to the U.S. Senate in January 2025. She replaced Marco Rubio, President Trump's pick for secretary of state. She won the seat on Nov. 3, the AP reported.

Six totals in six months

Her office's releases trace the climb. On May 18 it said "the grand total reimbursed by FEMA" stood at about $1.56 billion. In that release Moody called it "money that has been slow-walked and tangled in our federal government." The release listed $17.2 million for debris removal across Sarasota County and $6.6 million for debris removal in Tallahassee.

On June 17 the total was $1.7 billion. On July 8, at a stop in Punta Gorda, it was "nearly $2 billion." That release listed more than $64 million for Charlotte County, more than $57 million for Lee and more than $4.2 million for Collier. "Florida has been waiting on essential disaster assistance funds for hurricane recovery since 2017," Moody said then.

On Sept. 10 the total passed $2.3 billion, with $5.5 million "to help reconstruct the pier destroyed by Hurricane Ian." On Oct. 28 it was more than $2.4 billion. On Nov. 9 it passed $2.5 billion, her office said.

That is five higher totals after May 18, by our count of her office's releases. Outlets other than her office reported two of the steps: Fox 13 carried the $1.5 billion at a May 29 news conference, and WWSB carried the nearly $2 billion in July.

Her office has not said how it counts. The Sept. 10 release says the money flows through two FEMA programs, Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation. In the same release Moody said total recoveries had "officially surpassed $2 billion," under a headline of more than $2.3 billion.

Earlier, on Jan. 30, Moody announced nearly half a billion dollars after a meeting with the Department of Homeland Security. That release said the department had approved 535 projects worth about $481 million across 14 disasters. WGCU reported Charlotte would get more than $38 million, Lee County more than $20 million and Sarasota County more than $12 million.

What FEMA's own records show

FEMA publishes a record of every Public Assistance project it funds. Those records list 6,919 Florida projects first funded on or after Jan. 21, 2025, the day Moody was sworn in, by our arithmetic. Their federal share comes to about $2.19 billion, across 779 applicants, with the latest first approved Nov. 5.

That is a narrower measure than her office's total. It counts only Public Assistance, not Hazard Mitigation, and only projects first funded since she took office.

The biggest shares in that window went to Hurricane Milton of 2024, about $570 million, and Hurricane Ian of 2022, about $465 million, by our arithmetic. Hurricane Helene of 2024 got about $411 million and the COVID-19 pandemic about $386 million. Hurricane Idalia of 2023 got about $114 million.

Some of the money is old. Hurricane Irma, which struck in 2017, got about $4.8 million on 13 projects first funded in the window. Twenty-one projects from Tropical Storm Debby, declared a disaster in 2012, were also first funded then, about $550,000 in all.

Towns felt the wait. Bartow got $5.3 million for power and electrical system repairs, Fox 13 reported. "We've been waiting on that for 18 months, maybe longer," City Manager Mike Herr said. In Charlotte County, Administrator Hector Flores told WWSB: "we definitely rely on FEMA's support and the reimbursement."

Washington after the election

In Washington, House Republicans, who lost more than 40 seats, elected Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as minority leader on Nov. 10, CBS News reported. He beat Majority Leader Steve Scalise 106 to 73, CBS and NBC News reported; NBC said the vote was by secret ballot. No record ties Jordan's election to any Florida FEMA dollar.

Their side

"These are funds that communities have been waiting on for years," Moody said in the Nov. 9 release. The release says Florida waited on some of the money since 2017 "but Senator Moody delivered them in less than 2 years in office."

In September she said: "When I got to Washington, Florida was still owed billions of dollars for projects dating back years." Her May 18 release quoted Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praising her and said he "has worked closely with Senator Moody."

Her office's releases say the money will go "to the state and local communities" for projects that include "repairs to educational facilities, restoration of critical infrastructure, debris removal, and costs incurred during emergencies to protect life and property." The Nov. 9 release names no county, city or project.

What's next

What's next: The seat Moody won Nov. 3 covers the last two years of the term Rubio won in 2022, the AP reported, so it is on the ballot again in 2028.

Sources we read

Office of Sen. Ashley Moody: releases of Jan. 30, May 18, June 17, July 8, Sept. 10, Oct. 28 and Nov. 9, 2026, and its site index of releases. FEMA (OpenFEMA): Public Assistance funded projects and disaster declarations, refreshed Nov. 10. WGCU, Feb. 4. Fox 13 Tampa Bay, May 29. WWSB, July 8. CBS News, Jan. 16, 2025, and Nov. 10, 2026. Fox News and Florida Politics, Jan. 21, 2025. The AP via WBTV, Nov. 4. NBC News, Nov. 10.