Gov. DeSantis reappoints Moms for Liberty co-founder to Commission on Ethics

A year and a half after he first named her to the Commission on Ethics, Gov. Ron DeSantis is reappointing Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich to the pivotal panel.

It’s the second time the Governor has reappointed her. In December, the Commission unanimously elected her to serve as Vice Chair.

She still has not received Senate confirmation.

DeSantis first appointed Descovich, a 50-year-old Indialantic Republican, to the nine-member Commission in September 2023.

The Commission is responsible for, among other things, investigating and issuing public reports on complaints of breaches of public trust by public officials and employees. Five of its members are appointed by the Governor. The remaining four are appointed by the Senate President and House Speaker. All serve two-year terms.

Descovich came to the role nearly three years after co-founding Moms for Liberty, a controversial conservative organization formed in 2021 that promptly made headlines for fighting mask mandates during the pandemic, LGBTQ inclusion in public schools and critical race theory curricula.

But the Senate, which must confirm all Ethics Commission appointments, declined to confirm Descovich last year, marking the first time in DeSantis’ tenure as Governor that one of his ethics appointees failed to receive confirmation.

Then-Senate President Kathleen Passidomo cited a citizen complaint that “politicized” the process. The complaint, by Melbourne resident Robert Burns, alleged Descovich was a paid lobbyist for Moms for Liberty.

She was and is not registered as a lobbyist, but she earns roughly $56,000 in salary and benefits from the group while advocating policy in the Legislature, according to Florida Bulldog. Ethics Commission members are prohibited from lobbying state and local governments.

Descovich has denied ever working as a lobbyist and said Moms for Liberty isn’t a lobbying organization either.

But her activities are still problematic for the role the Governor assigned her, according to Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Tina Scott Polsky, who was one of three Democratic lawmakers who voted against Descovich’s confirmation in February 2024.

“There are many people out there who we can find who are maybe part of a political party but do not run one of the most divisive organizations in this country,” she said. “We need to be better than this.”

Passidomo said she would put Descovich’s confirmation “on hold” while the proper interests got “through the whole process” of evaluating her Ethics Commission eligibility. In the meantime, despite that snag, Descovich has served on the panel.

Descovich conceived Moms for Liberty shortly after losing her Brevard County School Board seat. She officially launched the group on Jan. 1, 2021, alongside former Indian River County School Board member Tiffany Justice and Sarasota County School Board Member Bridget Ziegler, the wife of Christian Ziegler, who was ousted as Florida GOP Chair last year in the wake of a polyamorous sex scandal to which both spouses were party.

Moms for Liberty has been lauded by conservatives for its efforts to pass Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents, which prohibits LGBTQ-inclusive instruction in public school and allows for easier book-challenging processes.

Descovich has characterized her group’s efforts to censor lessons and materials as a “battle between good and evil.”

“The enemy wants to come between us and our children,” she said during a July 2024 panel discussion with the Governor. “Once that happens … our families are done, our communities are done and our country is lost.”

Progressives and civil rights organizations maintain that Moms for Liberty’s central tenet is intolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) labeled it an “extremist” group with ties to far-right organizations.

Descovich said in 2023 that Moms for Liberty was looking into suing the SPLC over the designation, which she said drew “a huge target on the backs of every mom that stands up at school board meetings and speaks out for her children.”

The lawsuit never materialized.

DeSantis has been a big Moms for Liberty supporter. He appointed Duval County member Esther Byrd to the State Board of Education. At its 2023 summit, the Governor railed against transgender athletes, preferred pronouns, Disney and drag queens “coming for your kids.” An offshoot group formed by First Lady Casey DeSantis called Mamas for DeSantis backed the Governor’s short-lived presidential bid.

The DeSantises are hardly the only politicians to have shown the group love. President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have all appeared on a Moms for Liberty stage.