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President Trump and his allies are waging war with the Federalist Society as he sees parts of his second-term agenda blocked by some of his own judicial appointees.

Simmering tensions broke into full public view after Trump called longtime Federalist leader Leonard Leo a "sleazebag" after a court blocked the bulk of Trump's tariffs.

The boiling point has unleashed a rebellion pitting the Make America Great Again movement against the conservative legal stronghold that helped Trump reshape the courts during his first term by offering up conservative judges as suggestions to fill benches across the country.

As the president embarks on choosing his next set of judicial nominees in his second-term, his decisions are now being shaped by a new, MAGA-branded team.

Inside the White House, judicial appointments are being spearheaded by chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House counsel David Warrington and Deputy White House counsel Steve Kenny.

The Federalist Society once played a central role in advising Trump’s White House on those decisions. But in the president’s second term, the process has shifted to include outside influence from the Article III Project, which is spearheaded by close Trump legal ally Mike Davis.

Davis served as chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) during Trump’s first term, where in that role he helped clear the way for the president’s judicial nominees. David also previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first nominee to the high court. His relationship with Trump grew closer after the FBI raided the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort and he........

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