Who Is Barbara Lagoa, A Top Contender For Trump’s Supreme Court Pick?

Barbara Lagoa in January 2019 speaking as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pick for the Florida Supreme Court.

Wilfredo Lee / AP

Federal appeals court Judge Barbara Lagoa is high on President Trump’s list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court seat left open by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Although she has been a federal judge for less than a year, Lagoa has a background and judicial philosophy with attractive qualities for the president and conservatives. She’s Cuban American and speaks fluent Spanish; she’s a conservative Catholic, thus appealing to an important religious constituency; and perhaps most important of all, she is from Florida, a pivotal state in the upcoming presidential election.

“She’s excellent,” Trump said Monday on Fox News. “She’s Hispanic. She’s a terrific woman from everything I know … [but] I don’t know her. Florida — we love Florida.”