NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

However an appeals court soon intervened and allowed the administration to continue collecting the tariffs while the legal fight plays out.

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.

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.”

Trump’s attacks

Trump’s fury came via Truth Social after the court tried to halt the central plank of the president’s economic agenda: sweeping tariffs that have rattled global financial markets, dismayed longtime trading partners, and prompted warnings about higher prices and inflation.

In response, Trump issued a lengthy and angry missive criticizing the judges behind the decision, accusing them of “destroying America” and saying he hoped the Supreme Court would quickly reverse “this horrible, Country threatening decision.”

Trump then referred to his first term as president, saying he “was new to Washington, and it was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on Judges. 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.”

“I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations,” he wrote. “This is something that cannot be forgotten!” He added: ”Backroom ‘hustlers’ must not be allowed to destroy our Nation!”

Some conservatives, including legal scholars, have been among those pushing back against Trump’s trade wars, arguing the Constitution makes clear the power of the purse belongs to Congress, not the president.

In April, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonprofit group that Bloomberg Law reported is affiliated with Leo and Charles Koch, filed a separate lawsuit challenging Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, also accusing him of acting in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

That move earned the ire of prominent Trump backers like Laura Loomer, who accused both Leo and the Federalist Society of working to undermine the president.

The panel Trump assailed included judges appointed by Presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as well as Timothy Reif, whom Trump nominated to the trade court during his first term. Reif, a Democrat, had previously worked for the U.S. Trade Representative in both the Obama and Trump administrations.

In a questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of his confirmation process, Reif described working on a long list of Democratic campaigns. He volunteered on Edward Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1980, driving the press van in Kennedy’s motorcade. He served as press secretary for John Lindsay’s Senate campaign in 1980 and volunteered for New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt’s reelection effort in 2000, when his responsibilities included “driving and accompanying candidate’s mother to campaign events.”

He also volunteered for John Kerry in 2024 and Obama in 2008, and donated small amounts years ago to the Clintons and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

He appears to have participated in one Federalist Society-affiliated event: a panel on international trade in 2011 held by the Georgetown Law Student Chapter.

The Federalist Society and Reif did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

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