Trump’s Attack on Ex-Federalist Society Chair Risks GOP Support

President Donald Trump’s anger at the courts is extending to judges he nominated even as his policies fare better among his appointees.

At least nine rulings in Trump’s favor have come from judges he appointed during his first term, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis. No other cohort of judges appointed by another president has issued this many decisions that cut Trump’s way, even as challengers to the administration tend to file in federal courts with more Democratic appointees.

Still, the victories don’t appear to be enough for Trump. On Thursday, Trump turned his back on Leonard Leo, the adviser he relied on to fill judicial vacancies in his first term, calling the former Federalist Society chairman a “sleazebag.” Trump said he’s disappointed with the conservative legal group Leo led because it gave him “bad advice” on numerous judicial nominations.

The attacks, which followed a Trump-appointed judge ruling against his tariff policy, risks “needlessly offending an ally,” said John Malcolm, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, who called himself a longtime friend of Leo.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller doubled down on the anti-Federalist Society messaging Friday during a CNN appearance where he said Trump won’t be leaning on the legal networking group for judicial nominees going forward.

Trump has already put forward an initial wave of second term judicial nominees. At least seven of those 11 nominees have spoken at Federalist Society events, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether they’re members of the group. Nominees’ memberships are typically disclosed to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Trump judges

Trump’s attack on Leo and the Federalist Society came a day after his first term appointee Judge Timothy Reif joined a 3-0 US Court of International Trade panel rejecting his tariff plan.

Even with some Trump appointees ruling against the president, the majority of those judges presiding over challenges to the president’s executive authority have sided with the administration, according to a Bloomberg Law litigation tracker.

The Trump appointees’ decisions stand out compared to their colleagues appointed by other presidents. The majority of rulings by judges appointed by any other president dating back to George W. Bush have been against Trump administration policies, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis. Ronald Reagan appointees have also ruled against Trump a majority of the time, and George H.W. Bush appointees to trial courts haven’t yet decided cases, according to the tracker.

Only a handful of judges appointed by other presidents have issued decisions favorable to the president.

Most of Trump appointees’ favorable decisions have come out of the federal trial court in Washington, where each of his four nominees have denied requests for orders against the administration.

US District Judge Carl Nichols has rejected requests to block sending foreign noncitizens to Guantanamo Bay and to restore foreign aid funds. He initially granted a temporary restraining order over the shutdown of USAID, but later denied a preliminary injunction request in that litigation.

Fellow Trump appointees and US District Judges Dabney Friedrich and Timothy Kelly in Washington have also denied preliminary injunction requests over immigration raids and anti-DEI efforts. US District Judge Trevor McFadden has denied requests for preliminary injunctions against an interim rule that would require immigrant registrations, and the suspension of refugee funding.

Trump appointees haven’t always ruled in his favor. McFadden also found that the White House’s denial of access for the Associated Press violated the First Amendment.

US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez in the Southern District of Texas also ruled against Trump’s use of a 1798 law to try and deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. And US District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan temporarily blocked the administration from withholding federal funds or approvals for New York’s transportation projects, as it seeks to end the city’s congestion pricing program.

Verbal Attacks

Trump and his allies have been notably aggressive when it comes to the federal courts, calling for the impeachment of judges who have ruled against him and casting doubt on whether it will follow court orders. This week, Trump also announced plans to nominate his former personal lawyer Emil Bove to Third Circuit.

Those actions, followed by his verbal attack on Leo, represent an inflection point in Trump’s relationship with the judiciary, said Gregg Nunziata, executive director of the Society for the Rule of Law, a conservative legal group that’s critical of Trump.

Trump “has already, for executive branch appointments, increasingly promoted people who are more devoted to serving Trump personally than to serving the law, and this week suggests he might bring a similar approach to filling judicial vacancies going forward,” Nunziata said.

Groups closely aligned with Trump are championing Bove’s nomination and praising the president for taking a new approach in his selection process. But Nunziata said it will have an impact on vacancies going forward.

“Many judges who are eligible to retire or take senior status have been watching to see what they can expect from the White House and these are ominous signs for them,” he said, adding that a lot of federal judges, including those who are very conservative, have been put off by the administration’s rhetoric about the judiciary in recent weeks.

Trump’s commitment to nominating traditional conservative judges is what helped him solidify the Republican party’s support and win the White House in 2016.

Trump now has far fewer seats to fill during his second term than he did when he first entered the White House in 2017, after then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked the Obama administration from filling dozens of judgeships, especially on the influential courts of appeals, as well as the Supreme Court.

If Republicans want to continue winning elections post Trump, Nunziata said it needs the conservative legal movement.

“This is not just about a personal attack on one man,” he said about Trump’s post about Leo. “His social media statement was an open break with the conservative legal movement that helped bring him to power in the first place.”