Laurel Frances Lee (née Moore; born March 26, 1974) is an American attorney, politician, and former jurist serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for Florida's 15th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 30th

secretary of state of Florida The secretary of state of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 Constitution of Florida, state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, th ...

from 2019 to 2022, as a judge on Florida's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019, and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida before entering electoral politics.

Early life and education

Lee was born on March 26, 1974, at

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. She graduated with her bachelor's degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and earned her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the Levin College of Law.

Legal career

Lee began her legal career as an attorney for the Carlton Fields law firm in 2003 before serving as an assistant

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

from 2005 to 2007. In 2007, Lee became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, serving until she was appointed as a judge on the Hillsborough County Circuit Court by then-

Florida Governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Florida and is the commander-in-chief of the Florida National Guard and Florida State Gu ...

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

in 2013. She was unopposed for election to a full six-year term in 2014.

Florida secretary of state (2019–2022)

Lee was appointed Florida Secretary of State by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

on January 28, 2019, replacing Mike Ertel, who resigned after less than a month in office when a 2005 photo of him wearing

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

as part of a Halloween costume as a

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

victim surfaced. In October 2020, weeks before the 2020 election, Lee sought to purge felons from voter rolls if they had outstanding court debts. ''Politico'' called the move "a surprise, late-hour move that comes after more than 2 million people already have voted in the presidential battleground." Lee's decision was not distributed to the wider public, only to local election officials. In December 2021, Lee made a criminal referral to

Florida attorney general The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is ...

Ashley Moody Ashley Brooke Moody (born March 28, 1975) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from the state of Florida. A member of the Republican P ...

seeking an investigation into potentially fraudulent signatures collected by

Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It was founded by Sheldon Adelson, Sheldon G. Adelson and his partners out of the Sands Hotel and Casino on the Las ...

in a petition drive to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot for the November 2022 elections that would expand casino gambling. On May 12, 2022, Lee announced she was resigning effective four days later, seven months before the 2022 election. She did not offer a reason for resigning. On May 17, she announced her candidacy for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in in the 2022 elections. She won the general election by a wide margin.

U.S. House of Representatives (2023–present)

Tenure

On July 29, 2024, Lee was announced as one of seven Republican members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress: * Committee on Homeland Security ** Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection ** Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security * Committee on House Administration ** Subcommittee on Elections (Chair) * Committee on the Judiciary ** Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet ** Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance ** Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Western Caucus * Republican Governance Group

Personal life

Lee is married to Tom Lee, a former member of the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

. They have three children. They live in

Brandon, Florida Brandon is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...

. Lee is

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

References

External links

Congresswoman Laurel Lee
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Laurel M. Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women politicians Assistant United States attorneys Circuit court judges in the United States Female members of the United States House of Representatives Florida state court judges Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Protestants from Florida Public defenders Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Secretaries of state of Florida University of Florida alumni Women in Florida politics 1974 births 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives