Late last month, approximately 1 billion news cycles ago, an obscure federal court made President Donald Trump very, very mad.

The US Court of International Trade ruled unanimously on May 28 that the massive tariffs Trump imposed after taking office again are illegal. That ruling was suspended the next day by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the tariffs will be allowed to remain in effect pending a ruling (arguments are scheduled for late July).

But the appellate court’s decision didn’t soothe Trump. He took to Truth Social on May 29 to post a 510-word screed attacking the judges on the Court of International Trade, before turning his ire toward a more surprising candidate — Leonard Leo, the most important person in the conservative legal movement.

“I was new to Washington, and it was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on Judges,” Trump wrote, reminiscing about his first term. “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.”

This breakup surprised many commentators. But not David French.

“If you’re familiar with how the conservative legal movement has interacted with MAGA, you have seen this coming for a while,” French, a New York Times columnist, lawyer, and onetime member of the Federalist Society, told Today,........

© Vox