Conservative Floridian politicos are ecstatic this week having received the news that Judge Barbara Lagoa is on the short list for the Supreme Court of the United States. Currently a member of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Lagoa is a remarkable jurist who previously served on the Florida Supreme Court and also served 12 years as an appellate judge on Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal. With 14 years on the bench, she has an extensive legal record that clearly demonstrates her philosophy of judicial restraint, textualism, and originalism. For these reasons alone, Lagoa would make an excellent addition to SCOTUS.

But with the looming backdrop of our national election playing out, the biographical details of a nominee will play a larger role in the confirmation process than ever before; and here, Lagoa would clearly be the strongest nominee Trump could choose. As a Cuban-American mother of three, whose parents escaped the tyrannical Castro regime to come to America, her appointment would signal the themes that President Trump has made his mainstay: the Rule of Law; rejection of socialism; and the attainability of the American Dream. Furthermore, the presence of a Cuban-American nominee would highlight the choice every American has to make November 3rd: the choice of individual freedom–or the choice of more government control. We all know the inevitable result of the second choice: look no further than Venezuela or Cuba.

The unprecedented and complete breakdown of the rule of law in Democrat-run cities across our nation, along with the tyrannical and heavy-handed government actions and abuses of power we’ve witnessed in the last 6 months, will also help frame the confirmation hearing and suffuse it with political meaning like never seen before. I expect it may make the Kavanaugh hearings look tame in comparison.

State Rep. Anthony Sabatini

Anthony Sabatini is a Republican member of the Florida Legislature that represents the state’s 32nd House district. He also serves in the Florida National Guard and practices law.