Obama-appointed judge removes himself from Disney suit after accusing DeSantis of 'rank judge shopping'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been arguing that his economic record makes a strong case for giving him the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. But DeSantis' detractors —a combination of liberals, progressives, centrists, libertarians and Never Trump conservatives — have responded that if he were really such a job creator, he wouldn't have declared war against a company that employs a lot of people in his state: Disney. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a conservative Republican, slammed DeSantis' battle against Disney as "crazy."

Disney CEO Bob Iger described DeSantis as "anti-business." And the company is fighting back against the far-right Florida governor with its civil lawsuit Disney v. DeSantis.

The federal judge who has been presiding over that case is Mark E. Walker, a Barack Obama appointee. But according to CNN, Walker has removed himself from the case, noting that one of his relatives is a Disney shareholder.

READ MORE: 'They’re those people': Vanity Fair rips the DeSantis’ Disney hypocrisy

Previously, Walker had resisted Team DeSantis' call for him to leave the case. DeSantis' lawyers claimed he lacked impartiality, and Walker, in response, accused them of "rank judge shopping." But CNN reports that Walker left the case anyway, and it has been reassigned to Judge Allen C. Winsor.

Walker wrote, "I am confident that my colleagues on this Court can preside over the remainder of this case and judge it fairly and wisely."

READ MORE: Virginia’s Republican governor sidesteps questions about Ron DeSantis’ feud with Disney

CNN's full report can be found at this link.