Trump, frustrated with some judges, lashes out at former ally and
conservative activist Leonard Leo
[June 02, 2025]
By JILL COLVIN
NEW YORK (AP) — Conservative legal activist Leonard Leo helped President
Donald Trump transform the federal judiciary in his first term. He
closely advised Trump on his Supreme Court picks and is widely credited
as the architect of the conservative majority responsible for
overturning Roe v. Wade.
But Trump last week lashed out at Leo, blaming his former adviser and
the group Leo used to head for encouraging him to appoint judges who are
now blocking his agenda. Trump called Leo, the former longtime leader of
the conservative Federalist Society, a “real ‘sleazebag’” and “bad
person who, in his own way, probably hates America.”
Trump’s broadsides came after a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of
International Trade blocked his sweeping tariffs, ruling that he had
overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International
Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and levy
tariffs on imports from almost every country in the world.
While an appeals court soon intervened and allowed the administration to
continue collecting the tariffs while the legal fight plays out, the
decision — and Trump’s fury at Leo — underscored the extent to which the
judiciary is serving as a rare check on Trump’s power as he pushes the
bounds of executive authority. The judiciary has intervened as he has
ordered mass deportations, deep cuts to university funding and the
firing of federal workers en masse.
Trump's words reflect his broad frustrations with the judiciary,
including members of the Supreme Court he appointed on Leo's
recommendation, who have allowed some of his more controversial efforts
to move forward, but blocked others.
Trump's rhetoric also appeared to be a tactic to shift blame for
setbacks to his agenda — this time notably pointing the finger at a
person who once helped Trump build credibility with conservative voters.
But it's unclear what — if anything — Leo had to do with the tariff
decision.
Leo said that neither he nor the Federalist Society was involved in
shaping appointments to the trade court. He offered only praise for
Trump.
“I’m very grateful for President Trump transforming the Federal Courts,
and it was a privilege being involved," he said in a statement. "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 attacks
Trump’s fury came via Truth Social after the court tried to halt the
central plank of the president's economic agenda: sweeping tariffs that
have rattled global financial markets, dismayed longtime trading
partners, and prompted warnings about higher prices and inflation.
In response, Trump issued a lengthy and angry missive criticizing the
judges behind the decision, accusing them of “destroying America” and
saying he hoped the Supreme Court would quickly reverse "this horrible,
Country threatening decision."
Trump then referred to his first term as president, saying he “was new
to Washington, and it was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as
a recommending source on Judges. I did so, openly and freely, but then
realized that they were under the thumb of a real ‘sleazebag’ named
Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America,
and obviously has his own separate ambitions.”
“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!” He added: ”Backroom ‘hustlers’
must not be allowed to destroy our Nation!”
Some conservatives, including legal scholars, have been among those
pushing back against Trump’s trade wars, arguing the Constitution makes
clear the power of the purse belongs to Congress, not the president.
In April, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonprofit group that
Bloomberg Law reported is affiliated with Leo and Charles Koch, filed a
separate lawsuit challenging Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, also
accusing him of acting in violation of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act.
That move earned the ire of prominent Trump backers like Laura Loomer,
who accused both Leo and the Federalist Society of working to undermine
the president.
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Leonard Leo speaks at the National Lawyers Convention in
Washington, Nov. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz, File)
The panel Trump assailed included judges appointed by Presidents
Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as well as Timothy Reif, whom Trump
nominated to the trade court during his first term. Reif, a
Democrat, had previously worked for the U.S. Trade Representative in
both the Obama and Trump administrations.
In a questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee as
part of his confirmation process, Reif described working on a long
list of Democratic campaigns. He volunteered on Edward Kennedy’s
presidential campaign in 1980, driving the press van in Kennedy’s
motorcade. He served as press secretary for John Lindsay’s Senate
campaign in 1980 and volunteered for New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt’s
reelection effort in 2000, when his responsibilities included
“driving and accompanying candidate’s mother to campaign events.”
He also volunteered for John Kerry in 2024 and Obama in 2008, and
donated small amounts years ago to the Clintons and the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee.
He appears to have participated in one Federalist Society-affiliated
event: a panel on international trade in 2011 held by the Georgetown
Law Student Chapter.
The Federalist Society and Reif did not respond to requests for
comment Friday.
The White House did not respond to questions about why Trump blamed
Leo and the Federalist Society for the decision, but Taylor Rogers,
a White House spokesperson, doubled down, calling Leo “a bad person
who cares more about his personal ambitions than our country.”
“These judges must ditch their corrupt allegiance to Leonard and do
the right thing for the American people before they completely
destroy the credibility of our judicial branch,” she said.
Who is Leonard Leo?
Leo is not a household name, but few people have done more to
advance conservative legal causes in the U.S. via a sprawling
network of conservative groups.
Decades ago, he began to execute a plan to build a pipeline for
conservative talent, working to identify, support and promote law
school students and lawyers who shared his originalist view of the
Constitution, and helping them reach the nation’s most powerful
courts. Such efforts have reshaped the courts and Republican
politics, culminating in Trump’s first term with the appointment of
three conservative Supreme Court justices. Leo's work also has
prompted protests outside his home.
The Federalist Society got its start on college campuses when Reagan
was president. It was conceived as a way to counter what its members
saw as liberal domination of the nation’s law-school faculties.
During his 2016 campaign, as Trump worked to win over social
conservatives wary of electing a thrice-married New York
businessman, he promised that the Federalist Society would oversee
his judicial nominations, assuring their non-liberal bona fides.
“We’re going to have great judges, conservative, all picked by the
Federalist Society,” Trump told Breitbart News radio.
And indeed, all three of the Supreme Court Justices Trump went on to
nominate had appeared on a list famously compiled by Leo, who took a
leave of absence as executive vice president of the society to serve
as an outside adviser in the selection process.
Leo has since stepped back from the Federalist Society and is now
working to extend his reach beyond the courts with the Teneo
Network, which he has described as an effort to “crush liberal
dominance” and create pipelines of conservative talent "in all
sectors of American life,” including Hollywood, entertainment,
business and finance.
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