Florida politics is gearing up for another headline-heavy stretch, and tonight’s lead is judicial—pretty rare for a “Last Call,” but here we are.
The Florida Supreme Court unanimously selected John Couriel as its next Chief Justice, effective July 1. Couriel, who joined the high court in 2020 after being appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, will succeed Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, whose second term in the court’s top administrative post ends June 30. Muñiz will stay on the bench as an Associate Justice.
Couriel will replace Muñiz later this year when he’s sworn into the chief role, and the selection itself followed the court’s evolving internal rules. For many years, procedural rules pushed courts toward choosing the longest-serving justice who hadn’t been chief before—Couriel fits that profile—but the rules now say leadership should matter more, with the court selecting “based on managerial, administrative, and leadership abilities, without regard to seniority only.” It’s a small change in wording that actually signals a bigger shift in emphasis.
In his news release, Couriel sounded confident and, maybe more importantly, steady. “I am grateful to my colleagues for their trust and am indebted to the previous chief justices with whom I’ve served,” he said. The Chief Justice, as the court describes it, is the top administrative officer for the judicial branch—overseeing court operations and budget priorities, and also driving the branch’s legislative agenda. That person is also the primary public spokesperson for matters of statewide importance, which means this won’t be a quiet internal promotion.
Couriel, 48, is the 90th justice of the Florida Supreme Court and will become the state’s 58th Chief Justice. He’s a Harvard law graduate and the son of Cuban immigrants, and before his appointment to the high court in mid-2020 he was a partner at Kobre & Kim. One tiny real-world detail from the release process—someone in the building was definitely dealing with the usual paperwork stacks, because even the timing reads like it was built for a calendar nobody wants to miss.
Around the rest of the political ecosystem, the mood is still dominated by a mix of loyalty tests, fundraising mechanics, and the long, slightly exhausting runway toward 2028. Misryoum newsroom reported on a broader question of how Christian supporters fit into Donald Trump’s political calculus as “erratic behavior escalates.” Elsewhere in Misryoum’s coverage, attention is also on money-as-access dynamics—one-on-one meeting pitches, donor networks, and the quiet plumbing of who can influence what. Even in Florida, where statewide wins can be a steep lift for Democrats, Misryoum editorial desk noted the discussion is shifting: Ryan Tyson says “It is statistically improbable that a Democrat can be successful statewide — statistically improbable. But it’s no longer impossible.” That line, though, lands with a kind of double edge—encouraging, but also basically admitting how narrow the path has been.
And just because politics doesn’t fully own a Sunday, there’s sports too. The Tampa Bay Lightning begins play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday, hosting the Montreal Canadiens in game one of the Eastern Conference first-round series. Tampa Bay enters with a 50-26-6 record and 106 points, finishing second in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference, with the kind of late-season wobble coaches hate to see—losing four of the last six games.
The winner advances to face the winner of the Buffalo Sabres-Boston Bruins series, which also opens on Sunday. Times for Sunday’s games have not yet been announced. And for Florida politics, that’s kind of the theme tonight: lots set in motion, some details still waiting, and everyone already watching the clock.
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