The Federalist Society is a conservative dark money group powered by Leonard Leo, a member of the Council for National Policy. Leo and the Federalist Society install hand-picked justices to the Supreme Court. Those justices then preside over cases that those same dark money donors bring to the court, almost always resulting in a favorable outcome for the donors.
But how did they do it?
The Federalist Society was founded in 1982, supposedly by a group of law students fed up with not having right-leaning clubs on their college campuses. It’s the same story behind the founding of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. (Kirk is also a member of the Council for National Policy.)
But unlike Charlie Kirk, these guys had deep pockets, a proven track record for success, and a winning strategy.
That agenda? Identify and recruit lawyers aligned with right-wing donors’ interests. Train them to make sure they align with the organization. Guide their careers to eventually nominate them to positions on federal courts.
The first two faculty advisors to a Federalist Society club were former Attorney General Robert Bork and Justice Antonin Scalia.
Scalia joined the Supreme Court just four years after he co-founded the Federalist Society. Nixon nominated Bork soon after, but the Senate rejected him for his radical, anti-American views on abortion, race, policing, and other issues.
From the start, members like Bork and Scalia hoped to use the organization to mainstream “modern originalism,” the concept that American laws and social norms should reflect the norms and expectations of our Founding Fathers.
The Federalist Society – thanks to its rich and powerful connections – held influence in the U.S. government from the moment it was conceived. Since the 1980s, the group has handpicked every Republican-appointed attorney general.
Unlike attorneys general, federal judges serve for life, and they have the power to decide which rights we have and which are deemed unconstitutional.
The group caught its biggest break yet when Donald Trump won in 2016. During his presidency, Trump made sure every level of the judicial branch was weaponized by the Federalist Society.
“I announced 11 judges… I got them largely from the Federalist Society.” – Trump on Fox News in May 2017, just four months into his presidency
The Federalist Society, longtime operatives like Leo Leonard, and mega donors like the Koch brothers are responsible for Justices Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. The group essentially owns six-ninths of the Supreme Court.
And their decades of work paid off! The Federalist Society stripped women of reproductive rights. The Federalist Society gave us “presidential immunity.” The Federalist Society overturned the Chevron deference, marking the first step in the far-right’s efforts to dismantle government agencies.
But they didn’t start there. The Federal Society’s first big SCOTUS payoff came in the form of setting back gun rights beyond the point of the Constitution.
For over 230 years, the Second Amendment was interpreted as only protecting the right of militias to own firearms. That changed in 2008 when the Supreme Court decided individual gun ownership is also protected. The Federalist Society spent years collaborating with the NRA to make it happen. Since that SCOTUS decision, annual gun deaths have gone up 54% and school shootings are up 407%.
Why does it matter?
The Federalist Society is not just responsible for rolling back our rights and sacrificing our safety for billionaires. They are also on track to dismantle democracy as we know it.
They have spent decades installing federal judges and SCOTUS picks. But now we are moving into a much more sinister era. Federalist Society Justices like Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanagh and Amy Coney Barrett are using their lifetime positions to legislate from the bench.
The role of justices is to decide the constitutionality of the law and ensure the American people the promise of equal justice under the law. It is not their role to negate the will of Congress (our true legislative branch) or to push through their extremist agenda. SCOTUS is supposed to be a check on the legislative and executive branches. Instead, they are making a play to override these duly elected bodies and erode our democracy. We cannot let this happen.
Why hasn’t anyone stopped the Federalist Society?
The answer is simple. They’re funded by millions in anonymous, dark-money donations each year. Their network of think tanks, lobbyists, and donors toss some more money at Republicans in Congress, and their court nominees are confirmed by the Senate.
So, the next time you ask yourself “What is SCOTUS thinking?” or “Why did Republicans fight so hard for alleged rapist Brett Kavanaugh instead of nominating someone else?” You’ll know the answer…
The Federalist Society.