Trump goes after Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society in fury over court ruling
President Donald Trump leveled unusually pointed criticism of a prominent conservative legal activist and organization Thursday as he railed against a ruling that struck down his sweeping tariffs.
The president, in a post on his social media platform, slammed Leonard Leo, the former chair of the Federalist Society, calling him a “sleazebag” who “probably hates America.”
It was a striking characterization of Leo, who played a key role in working with
Trump to shape the conservative Supreme Court.
“He openly brags how he controls Judges, and even Justices of the United States Supreme Court — I hope that is not so, and don’t believe it is!,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s attack came after the
U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday struck down his tariffs, a massive blow to the primary pillar of the administration’s economic agenda. The ruling was temporarily stayed
by an appellate court on Thursday. One of the judges on the three-person panel that blocked the tariffs is Timothy Reif, who was appointed by Trump in his first term.
The blame, Trump said, lay with the Federalist Society.
“I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations,” he wrote. “This is something that cannot be forgotten!”
Leo, in a brief statement in response, did not criticize the president.
“I’m very grateful for President Trump transforming the Federal Courts, and it was a privilege being involved,” Leo said. “There’s more work to be done, for sure, but the Federal Judiciary is better than it’s ever been in modern history, and that will be President Trump’s most important legacy.”
Trump’s relationship with the activist is known to have grown strained over Trump’s disappointment that the three conservative justices he appointed to the court on Leo’s advice did not intervene to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election.
The Federalist Society worked with the Trump administration to develop a shortlist of candidates for the Supreme Court during his 2016 presidential campaign. Leo was a pivotal figure in the conservative legal group for more than two decades, and took leaves of absence to manage the selection and confirmation process for Trump’s Supreme Court picks. Many people viewed the judicial selection process as essentially outsourced to the Federalist Society.
Despite the falling out between Trump and Leo, many legal conservatives said in recent months that they expected him to remain influential in the choices Trump makes for judicial nominations in his second term.
But the full-on rupture evident in Trump’s social media post Thursday signals that Trump may now view nominees’ Federalist Society ties as toxic and any sign of a link to Leo could doom a potential nominee. That could lead to more extreme or inexperienced nominees for the federal bench, although all still require Senate confirmation.
Trump’s over-the-top trashing of Leo, a devout Catholic, as a “sleazebag” could further sour the president’s relationship with some longtime legal conservatives. A few have already publicly broken ranks with the president.
The Federalist Society did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
And at a time when much of Trump’s agenda is facing tests at the Supreme Court, Trump’s vitriolic attack on Leo has the potential to further distance the president from the court’s conservative justices. All three of Trump’s high court nominees, as well as Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, are known to be close to Leo.
