They were once allies: Donald Trump and Leonard Leo, the legal mastermind behind the conservative shift at the Supreme Court. Leo, longtime head of the Federalist Society, had advised Trump in selecting judges and is seen as the architect of the majority that overturned Roe v. Wade. Now, Trump calls him a \u201creal sleazebag\u201d \u2013 and accuses him of recommending the wrong judges. The outburst came on Truth Social, after a three-judge panel blocked Trump\u2019s global tariff policy. The court ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority by invoking the 1977 emergency powers law. While an appeals court soon reinstated the tariffs, Trump\u2019s fury was unleashed. Leonard Leo became the main target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump accused Leo of giving him bad advice when he was new to Washington. The Federalist Society, he said, was \u201cunder the control of a man who probably hates America.\u201d Leo, driven by personal ambition, was to blame for the fact that Trump\u2019s agenda is now being blocked by judges he himself appointed. Leo responded briefly and diplomatically. He said he was grateful to have contributed to the transformation of the federal courts. The Federalist Society and Leo himself, he added, had no role in the appointments to the trade court. In fact, the judge in question, Timothy Reif, was nominated by Trump but had previously worked in Democratic circles and donated to Hillary Clinton and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump was unmoved. For him, the judiciary is increasingly an adversary. Courts repeatedly block key elements of his agenda \u2013 mass deportations, funding cuts to universities, the firing of public employees. The attempt to subjugate the judiciary is faltering \u2013 and Trump responds by assigning blame. Yet Leo was long one of the most influential conservative power architects in the country. He built networks, promoted lawyers with originalist views, and systematically expanded influence \u2013 from law schools to the highest courts. Without him, Trump would never have gained the trust of the religious right. Today, that very man is under public attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leo has long since turned to new goals. With the Teneo Network, he aims to foster conservative talent not only in the judiciary, but in all areas of American life \u2013 business, media, entertainment. His opponents protest outside his home. His former allies publicly insult him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What remains is a picture of division. Trump is breaking with the architects of his power base. The judiciary becomes the enemy. And Leonard Leo \u2013 once a kingmaker \u2013 becomes a target. A further sign of how unstable a system becomes when it is meant to serve only one will.<\/p>\n
Einst waren sie Verb\u00fcndete: Donald Trump und Leonard Leo, der juristische Strippenzieher hinter der konservativen Wende am Supreme Court. Leo, langj\u00e4hriger Kopf der Federalist Society, hatte Trump bei der Auswahl seiner Richter beraten und gilt als Architekt jener Mehrheit, die Roe v. Wade zu Fall brachte. Nun nennt Trump ihn einen \u201eSchleimbeutel\u201c \u2013 und wirft […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-topstory","category-trump-usa"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kaizen-blog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/leo.webp?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Rainer Hofmann","author_link":"https:\/\/kaizen-blog.org\/en\/author\/admin\/"},"yoast_head":"\n