Rosalind Evans
In January 2020, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas first appeared before the Florida Federalist Society. On this occasion, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told the audience at a large banquet held at Disney World that he believed Thomas to be “our greatest living justice.”
Following the event, DeSantis and Thomas joined a private dinner at a Disney steakhouse with other Federalist Society members, including Leonard Leo, a prominent conservative activist with significant sway over Supreme Court nominations.
Thomas and Leo have known each other for many years, with Leo becoming acquainted with DeSantis during his time at Harvard Law School in the early 2000s. Following DeSantis’s election as Florida’s governor in 2018, Leo started providing counsel on state judicial nominations, similar to his role advising Donald Trump on Supreme Court nominees.
According to Leo, this private dinner cemented the relationship between DeSantis and Thomas, allowing them to deepen their understanding of each other. Emails obtained by American Oversight last year showed that Ginni Thomas, the justice’s wife and a conservative activist, had also maintained close contact with DeSantis.
Like Trump during his 2016 campaign, DeSantis has used the Supreme Court as a cornerstone of his appeal to Republican voters. He has expressed his hope to secure a 7-2 conservative majority on the Supreme Court bench, which currently holds a 6-3 conservative majority. This emphasis on the court’s future composition could benefit DeSantis against his rivals.
Despite their competition for the presidential candidacy, DeSantis and Trump share an ideological kinship. Several of DeSantis’s state court nominees have also been appointed by Trump to federal court positions, showing their shared alignment with the Federalist Society’s philosophy, as represented by figures like Leo.
ProPublica’s reports on Thomas’ undisclosed travel and financial dealings with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow have led to public and congressional scrutiny. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by DeSantis frequently holding him up as an exemplar, Thomas remains a conservative icon.
Thomas, the most senior member of the current court who will soon turn 75, was previously often in dissent on the conservative fringe. However, with the inclusion of three Trump-appointed justices, he has assumed a leading role in the court’s conservative faction.
Leo, a close friend of Thomas and a driving force behind right-wing advocacy efforts, has yet to publicly endorse a GOP presidential candidate in these early primary stages. He has previously advised DeSantis and admires his approach to the judiciary but is keeping his options open as more contenders enter the race.
DeSantis’ opposition to LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, and other cultural issues aligns him closely with Thomas at the Supreme Court. Furthermore, as governor, DeSantis has consistently supported views expressed in Thomas’ rulings, such as advocating for stronger Second Amendment protections and aiming to reduce First Amendment protections for media criticism of public officials.
DeSantis follows Trump’s strategic blueprint by seeking Leo’s advice on state judicial appointments. However, his supporters believe that if DeSantis were to become president, his approach to federal appointments would not merely mimic Trump’s.
Since his inauguration in 2019, DeSantis has reshaped Florida courts with a majority of right-wing appointees. He has filled most of the seven seats on the Florida Supreme Court, some more than once. Two of his early appointees, Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck, were later appointed by Trump to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now, as he competes with Trump for the presidency, DeSantis stresses the possibility of serving two terms and filling multiple vacancies, whereas Trump would be restricted to a single term due to his previous presidency.
In 2016, Trump’s election campaign was significantly boosted by his promise to appoint justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, which he fulfilled with the appointment of three anti-abortion judges. However, Trump benefited from a vacancy on the Supreme Court during his campaign, a situation that heightened the court’s importance for the election.
As DeSantis positions himself for a potential presidential run, he echoes Trump’s successful strategy of emphasizing Supreme Court appointments. This approach and his close relationships with influential conservative figures like Justice Thomas and Leonard Leo could play a crucial role in his appeal to conservative voters. Whether this strategy will prove as successful for DeSantis as it did for Trump remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the Supreme Court continues to be a pivotal factor in the political landscape.
