DeSantis went further, saying it’s even possible the next president could appoint successors to both Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Roberts and Sotomayor are both 68 years old. He made the context clear by saying that whoever is in the White House could help create a conservative majority on the court that would “last a quarter of a century.”
During his term, President Joe Biden selected one judge, Ketanji Brown Jackson, while former President Donald Trump selected three: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
The governor also said he plans to name a new justice to the Florida Supreme Court this week.
This will mark his seventh appointment to the High Court since he first took office in early 2019, and as a result the court has already shifted sharply to the right.
But this election will likely be closely scrutinized because this will be the first to come as he ramps up his presidential campaign. The process DeSantis used to screen candidates has been very shrouded at times. His official schedule, for example, has not shown that he has met one-on-one with any of the six candidates for the post.
This story first appeared in Florida Playbook. sign up here to get it in your inbox.
