Conservative legal activist Leonard Leo helped President Donald Trump transform the federal judiciary in his first term. He closely advised Trump on his Supreme Court picks and is widely credited as the architect of the conservative majority responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade.
But Trump last week lashed out at Leo, blaming his former adviser and the group Leo used to head for encouraging him to appoint judges who are now blocking his agenda. Trump called Leo, the former longtime leader of the conservative Federalist Society, a "real 'sleazebag'" and "bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America."
Trump's broadsides came after a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade blocked his sweeping tariffs, ruling that he had overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and levy tariffs on imports from almost every country in the world.
While an appeals court soon intervened and allowed the administration to continue collecting the tariffs while the legal fight plays out, the decision - and Trump's fury at Leo - underscored the extent to which the judiciary is serving as a rare check on Trump's power as he pushes the bounds of executive authority. The judiciary has intervened as he has ordered mass deportations, deep cuts to university funding and the firing of federal workers en masse.
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.