SEMINOLE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday held a news conference in Pinellas County to announce his pick of Judge Adam Tanenbaum to serve on the state’s supreme court.
Speaking at Seminole High School in Seminole, DeSantis said he picked the venue because Tenenbaum graduated there at the top of his class in 1989.
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“We have seven justices and six of those have been appointed, you know, since I’ve been governor, you know, by me, and I know Adam is going to continue the tradition of being really strong, so congratulations and thanks again to Seminole High for hosting,” DeSantis said.
Tanenbaum currently serves the First District Court of Appeal, which DeSantis appointed him to in 2019.
“As an originalist, I subscribe to the Fixation Thesis and the Constraint Principle. The meaning of a text is fixed at the time of its ratification or enactment and that original meaning does not change over time. Moreover, the acknowledgment of a fixed-in-time meaning serves as a constraint on how a judge can faithfully interpret the text,” Tenenbaum said. “I share Justice Clarence Thomas’ view echoing Federal 78’s observation that you just heard from the governor that the judiciary exercises neither force nor will, only judgment. That our goal as judges is always to find the correct original meaning of the law. To instead follow and replicate erroneous interpretations of the past is essentially to make the law, usurping in the process the legislatures and the people’s authority.”
Tanenbaum will replace Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady, who left the state’s highest court to be director of the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.
“I would say that they’ve done a good job on a lot of the major cases. I think that these things just kind of come down the pike, right?” DeSantis said of the Florida Supreme Court. “(...) For example, if you’re right on the law, are you going to defend the Constitution against attempts to manipulate it? These are things that that, you know, until you’re there and doing it, we don’t know how they come out. I would say that, by and large, you know, the justices have, you know, have done a good job. (...) I would bet that you know, I think Judge- Justice Tenenbaum will bat 1,000, I really do. I think he’s going to be where you need on all these really, really key things.”
The announcement took place a day after DeSantis gave his final State of the State address as the 2026 Florida legislative session began. The state Department of Education also announced that 2025 high school graduation rates were the highest in state history, with more than 92% of students receiving diplomas.
[WATCH BELOW: Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers State of the State Address]
Watch Wednesday’s news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.