Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday night announced his appointment of former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner to the board that oversees the state university system.
Renner, an attorney, will join the Board of Governors effective April 15, according to a press release from the governor's office.
The 57-year-old Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, served in the Florida House of Representatives 2015-24, rising to the speakership his last two years in the chamber.
He joins a growing cadre of Republican former elected officials that DeSantis has put in positions to guide a conservative makeover of education in the state, such as Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., a former state lawmaker, and New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran, another former House speaker.
More recently, he encouraged Florida International University to pick Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez as interim president of that school; she is widely expected to get the nod to keep the job permanently.
And Renner will join yet another former House speaker on the Board of Governors: Jose Oliva, a Miami Lakes Republican.
Renner has been a staunch ally of DeSantis and was largely deferential to the governor when he led the House, even agreeing to change state law to make sure he could run for president under Florida's 'resign to run' law, though that run later fizzled out.
He also as speaker pushed legislation that guaranteed universal school vouchers and mandated sweeping social media restrictions for children and age verification to access pornographic websites in Florida.
Writing this December in The Ripon Forum, which bills itself as a "Republican journal of political thought and opinion," he said Florida "balanced our budget, set aside record reserves, retired state debt ahead of schedule, and earned an AAA credit rating."
He added, "you could say we were DOGE before DOGE became cool," referring to President Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" initiative to reduce the federal bureaucracy and cut waste.
Renner received an undergraduate degree in history from Davidson College in North Carolina and a law degree from the University of Florida, according to the release. He's a U.S. Navy veteran and former state prosecutor, and is now an attorney with the Nelson Mullins firm.
His appointment must be confirmed by the Florida Senate.
SOURCE: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/state/2025/02/12/florida-gov-desantis-appoints-paul-renner-state-university-system-board-of-governors/78481915007/
