DeSantis appointed this Federalist Society judge to replace suspended state attorney

When Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that he would be removing Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren, a twice-elected Democrat, DeSantis said he hadn’t had a conversation with Warren about it.

But standing on the stage with DeSantis, ready to thank the governor and give comment, was Warren’s appointed replacement — Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez, who was appointed to the bench by DeSantis in 2021.

With Warren’s removal, Lopez will immediately begin as the state attorney.

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”I have the utmost respect for our state laws, and I understand the important role that the state attorney plays in ensuring the safety of our community and the enforcement of our laws,” Lopez said in a statement. “I want to thank the governor for placing his trust in me, and I promise that I will faithfully execute the duties of this office.”

Here’s what we know about her.

Her 2021 application for county judge

She listed graduating from Middlebury College and Suffolk University Law School. She is of Spanish descent, but said she is considered White and non-Hispanic for purposes of her application.

She worked for the state attorney’s office

Prior to being appointed as a judge, Lopez worked as an assistant state attorney in the 13th Judicial Circuit since 2005. She also worked as an attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal, which hears appeals of trial court decisions from five of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits. Among the 14 counties covered by this circuit are Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. It represents 6 million people.

Lopez supported Warren’s 2016 opponent

When Warren won the election for state attorney in 2016, it came as a surprise and upset to incumbent Mark Ober, a Republican. In a profile photo Lopez shared to her Facebook in 2016, she is posing in a “Mark Ober state attorney” shirt.

She belongs to the Federalist Society

The Federalist Society is a conservative legal organization that advocates for textualism, a favored legal philosophy of DeSantis. When Lopez and others were appointed judges in December, all were part of the Federalist Society.

Other noted members of the Federalist Society include Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.