Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I) said on Sunday that President Donald Trump might have recently come to a “dawning realization.”
On Thursday, Trump criticized The Federalist Society and its former leader, Leonard Leo, on his social media platform Truth Social after a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade shot down some of his sweeping tariffs last week, arguing that he had overstepped his authority under an emergency powers law. An appeals court has since intervened and temporarily paused the ruling until the legal battle plays out.
Trump called Leo, who was a key adviser on selecting the Supreme Court’s current conservative majority, a “real ‘sleazebag’” and “bad person” in his post.
“He openly brags how he controls Judges, and even Justices of the United States Supreme Court — I hope that is not so, and don’t believe it is! In any event, Leo left The Federalist Society to do his own ‘thing,’” Trump wrote.
“I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations,” he added. “This is something that cannot be forgotten! With all of that being said, I am very proud of many of our picks, but very disappointed in others.”
During an interview with the independent news network MeidasTouch, Whitehouse said that Trump’s jabs against the prominent conservative legal advocacy group and Leo may be because he might not have “truly chosen” his Supreme Court appointees, which include Justices Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020.
“That Leonard Leo and Don McGahn, his White House counsel who were running that process, and doing the selection — might actually have been really the agents of somebody completely else,” Whitehouse said. “And that Trump was the chump in the scheme, who did not know he was being played by the Koch brothers and the billionaire interests behind Leonard Leo.”
Whitehouse referred to Leo as the “billionaire’s court fixer.” He pointed to then-President George W. Bush appointing Justice Samuel Alito to the high court after former White House counsel Harriet Miers, who was his original pick, asked for him to withdraw her nomination following bipartisan opposition, and an image of Leo with Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire donor Harlan Crow, who was involved in funding lavish travel, tuition arrangements and a real estate deal for the justice.
The sudden criticism by Trump comes as two of the three judges on the initial panel were appointed by two Republicans, including the president himself.
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.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.