Laurel Lee
American judge and politician (born 1974)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Laurel Frances 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]
Laurel Lee | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 15th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Scott Franklin (redistricted) |
| 30th Secretary of State of Florida | |
| In office January 28, 2019 – May 16, 2022 | |
| Governor | Ron DeSantis |
| Preceded by | Mike Ertel |
| Succeeded by | Cord Byrd |
| Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida | |
| In office May 5, 2013 – January 28, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Rick Scott |
| Preceded by | Daniel Sleet |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Palermo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Laurel Frances Moore March 26, 1974 |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Tom Lee |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Florida (BA, JD) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Early life and education
Lee was born on March 26, 1974, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio,[1] the daughter of a U.S. Air Force officer who later attained the rank of major general[3][4] and a public-school teacher.[5][6] 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.[7][8] She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.[9][10]
Legal and judicial career
Lee began her legal career at Carlton Fields, P.A., specializing in antitrust and complex business litigation.[11] She later served both as an Assistant Federal Public Defender and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Florida.[11] 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.[12][13][AI-retrieved source]
In 2013, Governor Rick Scott appointed Lee to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsborough County.[14] She was subsequently elected without opposition in 2014.[15] During her tenure, she presided over civil, appellate, and domestic relations cases and served on Florida Supreme Court commissions.[15][16]
Florida Secretary of State (2019–2022)
Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Lee as Florida's 30th secretary of state in January 2019.[17][18] She oversaw Florida's elections, corporate registrations, and cultural affairs.[18]
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.[19][20] Under Lee's tenure, the Department of State implemented election security measures, referred fraudulent petition forms for investigation, and advanced voter registration security.[21]
Lee resigned on May 16, 2022, to run for Congress.[22]
U.S. House of Representatives (2023–present)
Elections
In 2022, Lee won election to Florida's 15th congressional district, defeating Democrat Alan Cohn.[23] She was sworn in on January 3, 2023.[24] She was re-elected in 2024, defeating Democrat Pat Kemp.[1]
Tenure
Lee has focused on national security, law enforcement, and technology policy.[25][26][27] 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.[27] She also introduced the bipartisan DEFIANCE Act, addressing non-consensual "deepfake" intimate images.[28]
She serves on the bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence.[29] 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.[30]
In 2024, Lee was named as an impeachment manager in the case against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas[31] and was appointed to the bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.[32]
During her tenure in office, Lee has nearly doubled her net worth ($7.39 million in 2022 to $14.02 million in 2024).[33] She has approximately $6.2 million invested in publicly traded assets as of January 2026.[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]
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.[1] 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]
