Rick Scott continues to press Supreme Court case for Barbara Lagoa
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Florida Sen. Rick Scott Holds News Conference On Partial Government Shutdown
The Senator is taking the argument to right wing radio.

U.S. Senator Rick Scott continues to make the case for a Floridian’s bid for the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

However, it’s by no means assured that this public advocacy will prevail.

Hialeah’s Barbara Lagoa, a 52-year-old judge who moved to the federal 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from the Florida Supreme Court in 2019, has been a rising star in judicial circles, and numerous Florida Republicans have been behind the scenes making the push for Lagoa both on qualifications and political grounds.

Despite indications that Lagoa won’t be the President’s pick this week, the Senator continues to make his pitch publicly, distilling the case to national conservative radio audiences the last two days.

On Tuesday, Scott made the case for Judge Lagoa as a “great pick” on the Hugh Hewitt show, a “wonderful person” with a “wonderful story.”

“She clearly understands the limits and roles of the judiciary,” Scott said, noting that she’d be the first Cuban-American on the court as well as the first Floridian on the Supreme Court.

The comments continued the theme from Monday’s Guy Benson Show on Fox News Radio. There Scott lauded Lagoa as a “hard worker” who “cares about the Constitution.”

“You know,” Scott said, “You can look at her track record. Here is a person that has core beliefs and follows through with those core beliefs.”

“She will not be persuaded by trying to be part of the other branch of government,” Scott added.

“I appointed 407 judges. I didn’t have the opportunity to appoint her or clearly I would have. She already was on the Court of Appeals in Florida by the time I became Governor.”

For his part, the President is noncommittal about Lagoa.

“She’s excellent. She’s Hispanic. She’s a terrific woman from everything I know, I don’t know her. Florida, we love Florida,” Trump said on Fox and Friends Monday. “She had a lot of things, very smart.”

The President said the list is “down to five,” with two names that he wouldn’t say in addition to Allison Jones Rushing (just 38 years old, as Trump keeps saying) and Notre Dame law graduate Amy Comey Barrett.

Smart-set speculation has centered on Barrett as the front-runner, with Mitch McConnell and others advocating her.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


3 comments

  • Ocean Joe

    September 22, 2020 at 8:06 am

    Scott better stick with his fellow Indianan – can Republicans rely on Judge Lagoa to deport the Dreamers or destroy the Affordable Care Act (heavily relied upon by folks in South Florida). These are both Trump goals. He’s already tried and failed on both counts. The court stopped him on DACA and McCain stopped him on the ACA, they are both gone now.

    These two issues will affect Florida residents like no other state.

  • DisplacedCTYankee

    September 22, 2020 at 9:50 am

    Joe: According to Wikipedia, Rick Scott was born in Illinois (not Indiana).

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