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President Trump has launched a scathing attack on the Federalist Society and its former executive vice president Leonard Leo, calling Leo a “sleazebag” and criticizing the organization’s judicial recommendations from his first term. This unprecedented criticism comes after Trump announced his latest appeals court nominees, including Emil Bove, his former criminal defense attorney, signaling a potential shift away from traditional conservative judicial picks toward personal loyalists.
The outburst was triggered by a legal setback regarding Trump’s tariff policies, where a three-judge panel ruled he had exceeded his constitutional powers. Trump blamed the Federalist Society for recommending “bad judges,” despite the fact that the ruling judge, Timothy Reif, was actually a Trump appointee who is not affiliated with the Federalist Society and was previously a senior adviser in Trump’s own administration.
This represents a dramatic reversal from Trump’s previous relationship with the organization. During his 2016 campaign, a Federalist Society-backed list of potential Supreme Court justices helped him win over conservative voters. The organization played a crucial role in his first-term judicial appointments, with a Harvard study showing 80% of Trump’s court appointees were current or former Federalist Society members, including all six current Republican Supreme Court justices.
Legal experts are interpreting this as a sign that Trump intends to prioritize personal loyalty over constitutional conservatism in his second-term judicial selections. Law professor Ilya Somin suggests Trump expects judges to “always vote for him no matter what, no matter how illegal the thing is that he’s doing.”
Leonard Leo responded diplomatically to the attacks, praising their past collaboration and calling the transformation of federal courts Trump’s “most important legacy.” However, conservative legal observers predict this could trigger internal battles within the right over judicial philosophy.
Some longtime Republican judicial strategists hope Trump’s criticism is temporary bluster rather than a permanent break. Manuel Miranda, who helped confirm President George W. Bush’s nominees, noted that most adverse rulings against Trump haven’t come from Federalist Society-affiliated judges. He emphasized that no other organization can provide the same quality of conservative judicial candidates.
The incident reflects Trump’s pattern of blaming Leo for decisions beyond his control, including a previous 2020 confrontation at Mar-a-Lago over Rod Rosenstein’s appointment. As Trump enters his second term, the rift suggests a potential fundamental shift in conservative judicial strategy, moving away from institutionalist approaches toward more personal loyalty-based selections.
Read more: For conservatives, Trump sends worrying signals on court picks
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