The president took a break from overseeing a domestic occupation, issuing threats to Iran, and pretending he’s not deeply implicated in the latest Epstein file dump. Speaking of dumps, Trump finds himself so overburdened these days that he’s taken his capacity for multitasking to extreme levels. And yet he still has time for his passion project: authoring a real-time record of his sundowning through his vanity social media outlet.
Yesterday, his ire fell upon Federalist Society bigwig Leonard Leo, whom Trump considers a sleazebag.
That’s the most powerful person on Earth blasting his rage wank to millions of followers about the “big and very dangerous mouth” on an “influencer” so notoriously behind the scenes that almost no one outside the legal nerd cult even knows who he is.
This is not the first time Trump’s lashed out at Leo. Last year, when the Court of International Trade struck down Trump’s attempt to unilaterally issue tariffs on products from everywhere up to and including an uninhabited penguin reserve, the president took to social media to bash Leo as a “sleazebag.” Who are we to argue with the president?
While Trump complains about Leo claiming the legal system is “RIGGED” his actual complaint seems to be the possibility that it is not.
Having railed against Leo when the Trade court ruled against the illegal tariff regime, he’s back at it now that the Supreme Court — generally exceedingly compliant to the administration’s whims — appears likely to break with the White House on both tariffs and his attempt to seize control of the Federal Reserve. Add in the various Republican judges around the country refusing to allow the administration to run roughshod over the Constitution, and Trump might feel genuinely misled.
Still, it’s a weird complaint to air in public when Trump has three more years to work and no viable alternative for vetting judicial nominees. The Federalist Society manages the MAGA cursus honorum and cutting ties with the group leaves the administration picking judges based on vibes. Presumably Leo — directly or indirectly — guided the administration in choosing the FedSoc all-stars most willing to embrace the president’s agenda as opposed to the squishy libertarians only showing up for low taxes and free Chick-fil-A.
But it’s a reminder that the White House’s obsession with loyalty remains a one-way street. No amount of obsequious service will ever be enough to satisfy Trump. Presumably, Leo doesn’t really care. He managed substantially stock the courts with enough low-hanging fruit to deliver activist-friendly one-judge courthouses and appellate courts more interested in clicks than laws that will pay off for ages. They may not always deliver for Trump, but when they don’t they’re just delivering for traditional Republican values. Leo’s success will outlast Trump.
Earlier: Donald Trump Rips Federalist Society, Calls Leonard Leo A ‘Sleazebag’
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
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