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Laurel Lee
American judge and politician (born 1974) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Laurel Moore Lee (née Moore; born March 26, 1974) is an American attorney, former judge, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 15th congressional district since 2023.[1] A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as Florida's secretary of state from 2019 to 2022 and as a judge on Florida's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019.[2]
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Early life and education
Lee was born on March 26, 1974, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio,[3] the daughter of a U.S. Air Force officer who later attained the rank of major general[4][5] and a public-school teacher.[6][7] She graduated from the University of Florida, where she was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1999 and was a member of Florida Blue Key.[8][9] She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.[10][11]
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Legal and judicial career
Lee began her legal career at Carlton Fields, P.A., specializing in antitrust and complex business litigation.[12] She later served both as an Assistant Federal Public Defender and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Florida.[12] As a federal prosecutor, she coordinated the federal-state Task Force on the Sexual Exploitation of Children and served as Violence Against Women Act coordinator.[13][14]
In 2013, Governor Rick Scott appointed Lee to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsborough County.[15] She was subsequently elected without opposition in 2014.[16] During her tenure, she presided over civil, appellate, and domestic relations cases and served on Florida Supreme Court commissions.[16][17]
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Florida Secretary of State (2019–2022)
Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Lee as Florida's 30th secretary of state in January 2019.[18][19] She oversaw Florida's elections, corporate registrations, and cultural affairs.[19]
In 2020, Florida saw a record turnout of more than 11 million ballots, the highest in nearly three decades, in an election widely regarded as secure and efficient.[20][21] Under Lee's tenure, the Department of State implemented election security measures, referred fraudulent petition forms for investigation, and advanced voter registration security.[22]
Lee resigned on May 16, 2022, to run for Congress.[23]
U.S. House of Representatives (2023–present)
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Elections
In 2022, Lee won election to Florida's 15th congressional district, defeating Democrat Alan Cohn.[24] She was sworn in on January 3, 2023.[25] She was re-elected in 2024, defeating Democrat Pat Kemp.[26]
Tenure
Lee has focused on national security, law enforcement, and technology policy.[27][28][29] She was the lead sponsor of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISA), a bill to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act including Section 702.[29] She also introduced the bipartisan DEFIANCE Act, addressing non-consensual "deepfake" intimate images.[30]
She serves on the bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence.[31] She also sits on the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittees on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, and on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, and on the Energy and Commerce Committee.[32]
In 2024, Lee was named as an impeachment manager in the case against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas[33] and was appointed to the bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.[34]
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
Lee is Vice Chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus,[36] and she is also a member of the Republican Study Committee,[37] the Republic Governance Group,[38] the Congressional Western Caucus[39] and the Everglades Caucus.[40]
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Personal life
Lee is married to Tom Lee, former president of the Florida Senate.[41] They have three children and live in the Brandon area near Tampa.[3] She has volunteered with Bay Area Legal Services' Domestic Violence Assistance Project and served on the board of the Emergency Care Help Organization (E.C.H.O.) of Brandon.[42][43]
References
External links
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