Trump goes after Leonard Leo in attack on tariff ruling 

President Trump denounced a court ruling blocking his tariffs in a lengthy Truth Social post Thursday night that targeted Leonard Leo, who played a central role in shaping Trump’s judicial picks during his first term. 

“Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY. Backroom ‘hustlers’ must not be allowed to destroy our Nation!” Trump wrote. 

It marked the president’s first comments after a whirlwind 24 hours that saw the U.S. Court of International Trade block the bulk of Trump’s tariffs before an appeals court lifted the order. The tariffs were also blocked by a separate court, but that ruling doesn't go into effect for two weeks.

Alongside his condemnation of the ruling, Trump went after Leo, who spent decades forming a conservative judicial pipeline as a longtime leader of the Federalist Society and advised Trump on judge selections during his first stint in the White House. 

“I was new to Washington, and it was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on Judges,” Trump wrote in the Truth Social post. 

“I did so, openly and freely, but then realized that they were under the thumb of a real ‘sleazebag’ named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions,” the president continued. 

When reached for comment, Leo expressed praise for the president’s judicial picks.

“I'm very grateful for President Trump transforming the Federal Courts, and it was a privilege being involved,” Leo 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.”

Trump reshaped the courts during his first four years in the White House, including by appointing three Supreme Court justices who cemented its 6-3 conservative majority. Trump’s nominees — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — came directly from a list compiled by Leo. 

But Trump has now soured on a handful of his appointees serving in various courts who’ve blocked his second administration’s policies. The three-judge trade court panel that blocked Trump’s tariffs included one of his picks, Judge Timothy Reif, a Democrat. 

“I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations,” Trump wrote Thursday. “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.” 

Though Leo’s influence on judicial selections has apparently waned, he expressed confidence in the president’s team in a March interview with The Hill.

“Both at the White House Counsel’s Office and some at the Department of Justice, these are individuals who are legal conservatives who understand the proper role of the court, have a lot of great contacts within the conservative legal community and I think will serve the president very well as a resource for identifying future nominees,” Leo said.  

Trump announced his first judge nominees earlier this month. This week, he announced a new wave that includes his former personal criminal defense attorney, Emil Bove, who subsequently played a key role in Trump’s Justice Department. 

Updated at 10:08 p.m. EDT.