Trump aims to build a MAGA judiciary, breaking with traditional conservatives

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is hinting at a new strategy for his second term of choosing judges. Instead of sticking to his first term’s formula of younger up-and-coming candidates with elite credentials and a conservative ideological background, he is leaning toward unapologetic, combative, MAGA-friendly nominees.

Last week, the president made headlines by attacking Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society, a conservative legal network that was instrumental in choosing and guiding 234 Trump-nominated judges—including three justices of the Supreme Court—through Senate confirmation during his first term.

The historic abortion rights case Roe v. Wade was overturned as a result of Trump’s reform of the federal courts and the formation of a conservative 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court. His greatest accomplishment during his first term may have been Wade in 2022.

But after a group of judges, including one he appointed, blocked some of his tariffs in late May, Trump called Leo a “sleazebag.”.

He posted on Truth Social, saying, “I am really disappointed in the Federalist Society because of the poor advice they gave me on a lot of judicial nominations.”.

Trump’s first-term judicial appointments will be his “most important legacy,” according to Leo, who declined an interview request. “.”.

Trump’s choice to appoint Emil Bove, a former personal criminal defense attorney and current Justice Department official, to the 3rd U.S. Supreme Court in Philadelphia has drawn the most attention of any of his early judicial nominees in his second term. A. Court of Appeals Circuit.

In contrast, Ed Whelan, a seasoned conservative judicial nominations analyst at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said, “The MAGA community is really thrilled about him because it sees him as someone who has been mercilessly carrying out the White House’s wishes.”.

Conservative attorneys who support a nonpartisan judiciary are concerned about the president’s initial actions.

“It could be a turning point in the relationship between Trump and the traditional conservative legal movement,” said Gregg Nunziata, the former Senate Republicans’ chief nominations counsel who is currently the head of the Society for the Rule of Law, a group of conservative attorneys who have been critical of Trump. There are president’s advisers and allies who have been pushing for a different type of judge, one who is more focused on the president’s agenda and loyalty than on conservative jurisprudence. “.”.

The president, Nunziata cautioned, is “turning his back on” his first-term legacy of giving conservative jurisprudence priority.

Some conservatives who support a different strategy for Trump’s second term in office have praised his social media posts. One such conservative is Mike Davis, a former Senate GOP chief counsel for nominations who leads the conservative Article III Project advocacy group and provides the White House with recommendations on judicial nominees.

According to Davis, Trump should stay away from “typical FedSoc elitists” who were “too weak to speak out” on matters such as what the MAGA world views as lawfare against him during the Biden years.

“There were many opportunities for these judicial nominees to show that they will be fearless and bold for the Constitution over the last five years, but we need proof,” he continued.

Some federal judges might be reluctant to resign if they are not certain that Trump will appoint a qualified replacement, according to Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law who is active in the Federalist Society.

According to Adler, some judges prefer to be replaced by “someone that understands the judicial role, understands that their obligation is to follow the law and apply the law, as opposed to someone who is perceived as a political hack and is going to rule in a particular way simply because that is what their team is supposed to want.”. “”.

Whelan claimed to have heard a sitting judge voice similar worries.

He stated, “I recently received a message from a conservative judge who has chosen not to accept senior status due to worries about who would be chosen to succeed them.”. He refused to reveal the judge’s identity.

In the Trump-Leo dispute, GOP senators avoid conflict.

Leo was instrumental in helping Trump make his selections during the first term. During the 2016 election, he contributed to the development of a list of possible Supreme Court nominees. Republicans were concerned that Trump would not select a conservative enough justice to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, who passed away earlier that year.

During Trump’s second term, Steve Kenny, the deputy White House counsel for nominations, oversees judicial nominations on a daily basis. Trump, White House counsel David Warrington, and chief of staff Susie Wiles are among those who provide input. Similar to Davis, Kenny was Sen’s former employee. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

One senior White House official stated, “We are looking for judges who are constitutionalists and who will not be judicial activists on the bench when we choose these judges.”. The official went on to say that the administration is seeking judges who share the conservative views of Supreme Court justices like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

As far as the MAGA community is concerned, both are more in line with Trump than his own court nominees, Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Even though the partnership with Leo produced results in which many Senate Republicans are proud, few were prepared to leap to his support following Trump’s personal assault.

Sen declared, “I will not become involved in those personality conflicts.”. A senior member of the Judiciary Committee is John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas.

Sen. R-La. John Kennedy. Another member of the Judiciary Committee invoked the Fifth Amendment, saying, “That’s between Leonard and the president.”. “.”.

However, he went on, “I enjoy the Federalist Society.”. “.”.

Grassley commended Trump’s original list of candidates.

He stated that Republicans are still intent on appointing conservatives with strong views to the federal bench. All five of President Trump’s judicial nominees, who appeared before the Judiciary Committee this week, are excellent legal thinkers who will uphold the Constitution and provide excellent service to the American people. “”.

Trump’s first-term success notwithstanding, there were already signs that his second-term strategy for judicial nominations would be different. Trump and his supporters have been harshly critical of judges who have ruled against the administration in its early months due to its aggressive use of executive power, and Leo is no longer advising Trump.

Barrett has been singled out, as have some judges from lower courts.

Lawyers from the Federalist Society are highly intelligent. On the academic side of the law, they are highly intelligent. A senior Republican lawyer close to the White House stated that the Trump administration is seeking judges who are more pragmatic.

A second factor is that Amy Coney Barrett’s decisions, in particular, have disappointed the Trump administration and Trump supporters in general, and this has affected some of these lower court rulings,” the attorney continued.

Trump’s public split from the Federalist Society and his subsequent refusal to work with the American Bar Association, which customarily makes recommendations on judicial nominees, are examples of the same trend for Democrats.

“They don’t want anyone to pry into nominees’ personal lives to see what they think, say, and do,” Sen said. The D-Ill Dick Durbin. During the initial hearing for Trump’s new slate of nominees on Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking member stated.

“The Federalist Society mode of Trump 1.0.”.

Trump has so far named nine nominees for district courts and two for the powerful federal appeals courts. In addition to Bove, Whitney Hermandorfer, who was selected for a seat on the 6th U.S. Circuit in Cincinnati, is the other nominee for the appeals court. S. Appeals Circuit Court.

Although Hermandorfer is perceived as a conventional choice by the Federalist Society, Bove is not thought of as the kind of nominee Leo might recommend. She worked for Barrett and Alito as well as for Kavanaugh while he was a judge on the appeals court. Additionally, while working for Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, Hermandorfer was involved in some culture war lawsuits.

According to Russell Wheeler, a researcher at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution who follows judicial nominations, she is “very much in the Trump 1.0 Federalist Society mode.”.

Four of Trump’s nominees for the district court are from Missouri, and five are from Florida.

Missouri’s nominees joined Hermandorfer. stated that she would not be doing the president’s bidding when she appeared at the confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t be in that position. It would be my responsibility to uphold my oath,” she stated. She belongs to the Federalist Society, which Hermandorfer described as a “wonderful place” for lawyers to discuss issues.

Only three of the 49 open positions are on the appeals courts, according to the federal judiciary. Three more have made their resignations known.

Trump got off to a slow start when it came to selecting his first group of judges, so it is too soon to tell how different his second-term choices will be from his first, according to a Republican attorney close to the White House.

Given that there are fewer vacancies this time around than there were in 2017, Trump might find it difficult to reach the numbers of his first term. The Republican-controlled Senate then worked in Trump’s favor by blocking many of Obama’s appointments, including Merrick Garland, who was Trump’s choice to succeed Scalia.

Due to their greater ability to amend laws and increased likelihood of being nominated for Supreme Court seats, legal activists tend to pay more attention to federal appeals court nominees than district court nominees.

Wheeler said there are currently 24 judges on the appeals court who are Republican-appointed and eligible to retire. Under the administration of the president of the party that appointed them, judges are generally more likely to resign.

“Activist judges have a purpose.”.

Trump will have a hard time finding capable conservative attorneys without some ties to the Federalist Society, even if he wants to stray from the Leo playbook, according to Whelan.

The majority of those you are looking at will be Federalist Society types, he continued, if you are searching for skilled attorneys with the kind of background that would make them good judges.

For instance, Kenny, who oversees nominations at the White House on a daily basis, “is definitely a proud member of the Federalist Society,” the Republican attorney stated. However, he will also follow the administration’s lead regarding the types of judges they desire. “.”.

Nunziata stated that it is the responsibility of Republican senators to oppose nominees such as Bove, cautioning that making a concession would give Trump the impression that he has “free hand” to nominate more people who are similar to him, including for a potential Supreme Court vacancy.

“I’m hoping for opposition. He cited former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s crucial role in guiding Trump’s first-term judicial nominees and stated, “Time will tell.”. He should be concerned by this development and use his remaining Senate time to fight against it, in my opinion. “”.

The office of McConnell remained silent.

Democrats say Trump is making it clearer that he just wants loyalists by selecting nominees like Bove.

“Everyone who will help him or has a connection to him is contributing,” Sen said. “D-Hawaii Mazie Hirono said.”. That’s what the president is all about. All he wants are those who will back him up. “.”.

However, Hirono gave a wry response when asked if she thinks Republicans will defeat some of Trump’s judicial nominees.

“Certainly not,” she uttered.