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By Rafael Arbex-Murut
Five – or by some accounts, six – of the nine US Supreme Court justices are affiliated with the Federalist Society. Among them, three were appointed by President Trump.
By March 2020, toward the end of Trump’s first term, 43 out of 51 of his appellate court nominees were current or former members of the Federalist Society.
Why then, has Trump turned on them, having declared that he will no longer turn to “FedSoc” for picks? In today’s deep-dive, we explore the origins of the Federalist Society, and what it did to be placed on Trump’s blacklist.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia – appointed by President Reagan in 1986 – passed away, leaving the next president to appoint Scalia’s replacement.
Trump, then still seen by many as a Manhattan liberal, needed to earn the trust of establishment conservatives. So he reached out to Leonard Leo, a key member of the conservative legal organization, the Federalist Society. Together, Trump and Leo took the unprecedented step of curating a list of potential Supreme Court nominees and releasing it to the public.
After winning the election, Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch, who was on the list, to the Supreme Court. Trump then went on to appoint several district and appellate judges, as well as another two Supreme Court justices, all under Leo’s recommendations.
But the friendship couldn’t last forever: Earlier this month, Trump called Leo a “sleazebag,” accused him of “hating America,” and alleged that he was “controlling judges.”
So what caused this stark reversal? Who is Leonard Leo? And where does FedSoc's power come from? That’s the subject of today’s deep-dive.
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Editor’s Note
We had an article prepared for today on the Strait of Hormuz, however, the Israel-Iran conflict appears to have ended, at least for now. We’ll be surveilling the situation and reporting on anything that needs coverage. In the meantime, let us know what you think about Trump’s shift away from the Federalist Society. Is this ultimately good or bad for the future of the courts? Send in your thoughts here.
And in case you’re interested in reading more, find our past five stories below:
See you back here tomorrow.
–Max and Max
