Donald Trump calls Leonard Leo "sleazebag," regrets judge picks
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Alia Shoaib is a freelance news reporter for Newsweek based between London, UK and Abuja, Nigeria. She primarily reports on U.S. politics and current affairs. Alia joined Newsweek in 2024 from Business Insider, where she reported extensively on U.S. politics, far-right extremism, the war in Ukraine and other global events. She is a graduate of the University of Bristol and City, University of London. You can get in touch with Alia by emailing a.shoaib@newsweek.com. Languages: English and Urdu
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President Donald Trump has sharply criticized an influential conservative legal group and its former chair Leonard Leo, blaming them for court rulings that blocked his sweeping tariff agenda.
Trump said that when he was new to Washington D.C. he was advised to take advice from the Federalist Society in picking 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," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.
Trump's post followed a ruling on Wednesday from the U.S. Court of International Trade striking down many of his administration's sweeping tariffs. The three judges on the panel included one who was appointed by Trump — Judge Timothy Reif.
However on Thursday, a federal appeals court granted an appeal to temporarily suspend the lower court's order, allowing the White House to continue collecting import taxes for now.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.