“Stasi Kamoutsas has delivered on important issues like parental rights, school choice, and fighting back against radical ideologies in education,” DeSantis said in a release. “I am confident that he will continue to serve our state well as the next Commissioner of Education, and I thank Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. for his dedicated and productive service.”
Diaz, the latest in a line of DeSantis allies put in charge of higher education institutions in Florida, was delighted with the choice. "Great pick Governor!" he posted on X. "Stasi will be a huge advocate for students and families in Florida."
Many spoke in support of Kamoutsas at the meeting, including former Lt. Gov. and now Florida International University President Jeanette Nuñez, former Florida House speaker and now New College of Florida president Richard Corcoran, and José Oliva, another former state House speaker and now member of the Board of Governors, which oversees Florida's public universities. Oliva called Kamoutsas "relentless."
Anastasios I. Kamoutsas, 36, has a fairly low-profile presence, but he has been involved in many of DeSantis' key initiatives and was described by Florida Politics as "one of the most feared staffers."
Kamoutsas, who holds a bachelor of arts in political science from Florida International University and his juris doctor from Virginia's Regent University School of Law, a private Christian university that was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as the Christian Broadcasting Network University.
He joined the Florida Department of Education in 2019 to be general counsel and then chief of staff during the state's battle against mandated COVID masks in schools before he was tapped to be one of DeSantis' deputy chiefs of staff. There, he said one of his jobs was vetting candidates for spots on state university boards of trustees.
“Under my tenure, the Florida Department of Education will remain committed to student safety and success, empowering parents, and supporting teachers,” Kamoutsas said in DeSantis' press release. “I look forward to working with the State Board of Education to ensure that Florida remains the education state.”
While most of his work has been behind the scenes, Kamoutsas has popped up in the news.
NBC News reported in March that Kamoutsas was one of DeSantis' aides who had made calls to state lobbyists, asking them not to donate to Florida 2026 gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds. First Lady Casey DeSantis has not announced her own run, but has been rumored to be considering it for months. Kamoutsas denied NBC's allegations.
He was also named in 2023 as the person who called then-FDLE Chief of Staff Shane Desguin to deny the promotion and raise for an attorney who disagreed with DeSantis' aides about what parts of the governor's travel records were public information because she "was not on our team," according to former FDLE deputy chief of staff Patricia Carpenter.
When Desguin asked if he could give Janine Robinson another position and salary increase, he “was told ‘no, she is lucky she even has a f—ing job,’ ” Carpenter said, according to The News Service of Florida. Carpenter was fired after she sought whistleblower protection.
Last October, Kamoutsas raised a stink in his homeowner's association in Tallahassee for posting signs against a proposed abortion amendment on his lawn and reportedly gaming HOA rules by removing them before a meeting, avoiding hundreds of dollars in fines, and then replacing and increasing them the next day.
Kamoutsas' wife Rachel is chief of staff to State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues.
Diaz was selected to replace UWF president Martha Saunders, who chose to step down after a contentious board of trustees meeting where newly appointed member Zach Smith grilled her about "diversity, equity and inclusion" issues he had identified when combing through UWF's social media. Smith had been appointed by DeSantis days earlier.
