ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis is formally backing a move to replace a statue of a Confederate general at the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall with a statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.

• Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue to be placed in National Statuary Hall
• Her statue will replace one of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith
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DeSantis on Wednesday sent a letter to the U.S. Capitol Architect to formally request the replacement of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith's statue in the National Statuary Hall.

McLeod Bethune's statue will represent the first African-American to have a state-commissioned statue in the hall.

"Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was an influential educator, leader and civil rights activist who became one of Florida's and our nation's most influential leaders," DeSantis said in the letter, which was sent on the 144th anniversary of MeLeod Bethune's birthday.

McLeod Bethune was a civil and human rights leader and advised presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The statue will be completed and moved to the National Statuary Hall in 2020.