Trump Administration Live Updates: President Praises Musk, Who Will Stay a ‘Friend and Adviser'
News Analysis
Justice Neil Gorsuch with former Justice Stephen Breyer at a memorial event for Antonin Scalia last year during a Federalist Society convention in Washington.
President Trump appears to be declaring independence from outside constraints on how he nominates judges, signaling that he is looking for loyalists who will uphold his agenda and denouncing the conservative legal network that helped him remake the federal judiciary in his first term.
Late Thursday, after a ruling struck down his tariffs on most imported goods, Mr. Trump attacked the Federalist Society, leaders of which heavily influenced his selection of judges during his first presidency.
'I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations,' Mr. Trump asserted on social media. 'This is something that cannot be forgotten!'
Hours earlier Thursday, the Justice Department severely undercut the traditional role of the American Bar Association in vetting judicial nominees. A day before, Mr. Trump picked a loyalist who has no deep ties to the conservative legal movement for a life-tenured appeals court seat, explaining that his pick could be counted on to rule in ways aligned with his agenda.
Together, the moves suggest that Mr. Trump may be pivoting toward greater personal involvement and a more idiosyncratic process for selecting future nominees. Such a shift would fit with his second-term pattern of steamrolling the guardrails that sometimes constrained how he exercised power during his first presidency.
But it could also give pause to judges who may be weighing taking senior status, giving Mr. Trump an opportunity to fill their seats. Conservatives have been eyeing in particular the seats of the Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas, who will turn 77 next month, and Samuel A. Alito, 75.
Image
Conservatives are eyeing the seats of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, both in their 70s.
Credit...
Erin Schaff/The New York Times
'Conservative judges are going to be much more open to stepping down if they're confident that their replacements will be high quality,' said Ed Whelan, a conservative legal commentator and former lawyer for the Bush administration. 'Trump's bizarre attack on his judicial appointments in his first term doesn't inspire confidence.'
Mr. Trump and his allies have expressed increasing anger at the federal judiciary as courts have blocked his actions, including his aggressive claim to wartime powers to deport migrants without due process and his efforts to freeze grants and dismantle agencies without going through Congress.
On Thursday, the U.S. Court of International Trade handed Mr. Trump his latest defeat. A three-judge panel unanimously struck down his invocation of emergency powers to impose import taxes on goods imported from nearly every country in the world. Two of the three judges were Republican appointees, one named to the bench by Mr. Trump. (A higher court has temporarily paused the ruling.)
Notably, the Trump appointee on the trade court was not a Federalist Society archetype. Congress structured the court to require a partisan balance, so presidents make sets of nominees from both parties. The judge had worked for a Democratic lawmaker before becoming an aide to one of Mr. Trump's first-term trade officials.
Yet Mr. Trump lashed out at the Federalist Society, blaming it for bad advice on whom to appoint to judgeships. He singled out Leonard Leo, a former longtime leader of the Federalist Society who helped recommend his first-term nominees and who exemplifies 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,' the president wrote. '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.'
Image
Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society at the Capitol in 2018.
Credit...
Erin Schaff for The New York Times
Mr. Leo and Mr. Trump had a falling out in 2020, but the personal attack was a sharp escalation. In a statement, Mr. Leo said, 'I'm very grateful for President Trump transforming the federal courts, and it was a privilege being involved.'
Still, Mr. Trump's tirade strained an already uneasy relationship with traditional legal conservatives.
Many share the president's goals of strengthening border security, curbing the administrative state and ending 'diversity, equity and inclusion' programs, said John Yoo, a conservative law professor. But, he added, they dislike some of Mr. Trump's methods, whether that is prolifically invoking emergency powers or insulting judges who rule against his administration.
And Professor Yoo, who wrote memos advancing sweeping theories of presidential power as a Bush administration lawyer, said Mr. Trump's attacks on Mr. Leo were 'outrageous.'
'Calling for the impeachment of judges, attacking Leonard Leo personally and basically calling him as traitor as far as I can tell — Trump is basically turning his back on one of his biggest achievements of his first term,' he added, referring to the reshaping of the federal judiciary.
Earlier on Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi notified the American Bar Association that the administration would impede its traditional role in vetting judicial nominees. That work involves interviewing their colleagues, reviewing their cases and writings, and rating them for integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament.
The bar group says it does not consider politics in such vetting, but conservatives have long accused it of liberal bias. (It rated all three of Mr. Trump's Supreme Court nominees as well qualified, and deemed only three of his 54 appeals court nominees to be not qualified for the positions.)
Image
Attorney General Pam Bondi at the White House last month.
Credit...
Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
In 2017, the first Trump administration stopped the bar group from assessing potential nominees before any final decision. But it permitted the group to vet them after their names went to the Senate. Nominees signed waivers so the group could have access to nonpublic bar information, filled out A.B.A. questionnaires and sat for interviews.
In a significant escalation, Ms. Bondi said in her letter that Mr. Trump's second-term nominees would not be instructed to sign waivers, nor would they fill out questionnaires or sit for interviews. The A.B.A. declined to comment on the move.
While Mr. Trump was out of power, a schism emerged between traditional legal conservatives and MAGA-style lawyers. The latter decided that politically appointed executive branch lawyers had constrained Mr. Trump in his first term, and began making plans to appoint a more aggressive breed of lawyer. But that conversation was largely about selecting executive branch lawyers, not judges.
During the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump had essentially made a deal with the conservative legal movement. In exchange for its support, he would outsource his judicial selections, like the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, to movement adherents.
Throughout his first term, Mr. Trump nominated appellate judges and Supreme Court justices cut from the mold of the conservative legal movement. He accepted the recommendations of his first White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, a Federalist Society stalwart, with significant input from Mr. Leo.
This month, Mr. Trump announced the first appellate nomination of his second term, Whitney Hermandorfer, a lawyer in the Tennessee attorney general's office, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. A former Supreme Court clerk to Justices Alito and Amy Coney Barrett, she appeared cut from the same cloth as his first-term selections.
According to people briefed on the selection process, Trump officials including Stephen Kenny, a lawyer working for the White House counsel; Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump's deputy chief of staff; and Sergio Gor, the director of the White House personnel office, were involved in those deliberations. Mr. McGahn, now in private practice, is also said to have weighed in on Ms. Hermandorfer.
But Mr. Trump's second appellate pick, announced on Wednesday as the nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was different: Emil Bove III, a Justice Department official and former criminal defense lawyer for Mr. Trump.
Mr. Bove does not fit the mold of the sort of lawyer who has spent years frequenting Federalist Society conventions to discuss judicial restraint and originalism. But he has shown a willingness to aggressively use power in ways that Mr. Trump likes, including carrying out politically charged purges.
Mr. Bove also forced out an interim U.S. attorney after she balked at his demand to drop a corruption case against New York's mayor, Eric Adams, when the administration wanted his help for mass deportations. The prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, a Federalist Society member who had clerked for Justice Scalia, portrayed the request as unethical.
In naming Mr. Bove, the president put forward an openly politicized and outcome-based rationale. His nominee, he said on social media, would 'do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Emil Bove will never let you down!'
The choice has set off a debate among conservative legal circles.
Mr. Whelan said a 'very conservative appellate judge' had told him that he would not retire because of concerns over whom Mr. Trump would pick as a successor. In National Review, he warned of the 'danger that Bove, if confirmed, would leap to the top of Trump's list for the next Supreme Court vacancy.'
But Mike Davis, a former Republican nominations counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted and welcomed similar picks ahead. 'President Trump will pick even more bold and fearless judges in his second term,' he wrote on social media. 'And Emil Bove is one of the most bold and fearless of them all.'
Michael A. Fragoso, a former nominations counsel to Senator Mitch McConnell, defended Mr. Bove's credentials. But he also said that 'regardless of what Mr. Trump is saying, the pool of candidates that he is picking from, and should be picking from, is still Federalist Society people.'
Professor Yoo said the purpose of the conservative legal movement was to get presidents to stop treating judicial appointments as patronage and instead advance ideological goals. If Mr. Trump deviated from that path, he cautioned, the president risked the revolt President George W. Bush faced when he tried to appoint his friend and the White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court two decades ago. Mr. Bush ultimately backed down.
No matter the shared goals of the conservative legal movement, Professor Yoo added, its members had a limit.
He said they would not support 'him calling for the impeachment of judges or wanting to appoint judges who are not the best and the brightest, but instead are people getting personal rewards from the president — which is how it was before the Federalist Society.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
5 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Gold Could Hit New High Later This Year, Report Says
Gold is likely to hit a new all-time high later this year on U.S.-policy driven economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and robust central-bank demand, according to a new report. The yellow metal's average annual price is forecast to rise 35% to $3,210 a troy ounce in 2025, the report by precious-metals consultancy Metals Focus said.
Forbes
6 minutes ago
- Forbes
Feeling Overwhelmed? Do The Hardest Thing First
First step is hardest. Do the hardest thing first. When you're feeling overwhelmed at work, your instinct may be to knock out the easiest items on your to-do list just to feel productive—is that right? But that habit can quickly become a trap. In The CBT Workbook for Perfectionism, therapist Sharon Martin notes that 'most people are inclined to do the easiest thing on their to-do list,' which is why the most meaningful—often most challenging—tasks stay undone. How can you do the hardest thing first? We've all been there. You start the day checking a few emails, organizing your desktop, or scheduling meetings—all while avoiding the hard thing: that presentation, strategy document, or performance conversation you know will move the needle. The undone task stays in your head. You tell yourself you'll get to it later. Yes, but the longer you delay, the heavier it feels, reinforcing a cycle of procrastination and overwhelm. You get into freeze mode and end the day feeling like you didn't accomplish anything. It happens a lot—especially to multitaskers, according to my Time Management Quiz. To break the cycle, Martin recommends a surprisingly simple solution: do the hardest thing first. When you start with what matters most—especially when it's hard—you activate focus and build momentum. You also send a strong message to yourself: I can do difficult things. In a recent conversation with a coachee, she told me that being proactive by blocking time on her calendar for what matters most helped her feel more self-respect, and boosted her confidence. Doing the hardest thing first thing in the morning is especially powerful if your power time, as I mentioned in my previous article, the period when your energy and focus are naturally at their peak—is early in the day. Research shows that cognitive resources are strongest in the morning. As Stanford health psychologist Kelly McGonigal explains it, your willpower weakens as the day progresses, as your energy gets "spent" on stress and self-control. But in the early hours, before meetings and admin work pile up, your mental energy is ready to help you dive into that big task. It's the best time to make the most of your brain's natural rhythm. What will make the biggest difference if done first? According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Focus on those tasks that may take just 20% of your day but drive real progress. Block off your power hour in your calendar and treat it as non-negotiable. You can reserve this time every day—or at least two or three times a week. People will get used to you being unavailable then. Timebox the specific 'hard thing' you identified the night before and add it as a meeting with yourself. You can learn more about timeboxing in my latest book Timebox. You'll be tempted to go back to your old habit of starting with emails or admin tasks. Catch yourself. Timebox those low-value tasks for later in the day—and honor the plan you created. Commit to just 10 minutes. If you get distracted, tell yourself, 'Just 10 more.' It's the act of starting that builds momentum. Progress, not perfection, is the goal. If tomorrow you follow these steps and spend just 20 minutes on your hardest task—congratulate yourself! That's real progress. Try 30 minutes next time. As performance coach Steve Magness explains, doing hard things—or anything that makes you uncomfortable—is an opportunity to train your mental muscle. The goal isn't to avoid discomfort but to understand it. Ask yourself: Is this task uncomfortable because I'm nervous, but prepared? Like running a marathon, it might feel tough, but you've trained for it. Or is the discomfort telling me I'm not truly ready yet? In that case, maybe you need more information, support, or time. By zooming out, reapprasing your feelings and reassuring yourself, for instance, using the phrase 'this too shall pass', you give yourself the chance to deal with discomfort proactively—instead of running from it or shutting down. When you do the hardest thing first, isn't about working harder or not respecting how you feel about the task. It's about using your energy wisely. One day it can be OK to skip it, but you need to break the avoidance cycle, and give yourself permission to move forward with the tasks that matter the most to you, not always, but at least most of the times.
Politico
7 minutes ago
- Politico
Jolly takes the plunge into wide open field
BREAKING LAST NIGHT — 'President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a sweeping new travel ban for people from 19 countries, citing national security risks,' reports POLITICO's Myah Ward. The ban fully restricts people from Haiti and partially restricts entry for nationals of Cuba and Venezuela. Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Zero Democrats in statewide office. An electoral shortfall of 1.3 million voters. The home for much of President DONALD TRUMP's staff and his 'Winter White House.' The testing ground for MAGA. It's how Florida looks for Democrats. And running for Florida governor in that kind of environment, where fundraising is sputtering and the party has immense hurdles to overcome? Seemingly no one would rush to take that on. Except for DAVID JOLLY. The former Republican congressman, who was a politically independent voter since 2018 and registered as a Democrat in April, has officially filed to run for governor. The biggest challenger on the Republican side so far is Trump-endorsed Rep. BYRON DONALDS. But the Democratic field has been full of only crickets thus far. Those who openly expressed interest in running a year ago have since stepped back, underscoring just how bleak the landscape appears after Trump won Florida by 13 points in 2024. 'People who might have been very strong candidates would want to see the party infrastructure build up and be a better atmosphere to run,' said state Sen. TINA POLSKY (D-Boca Raton). 'But then it kind of takes someone maybe a little bit different, a little bit out of the norm — like David Jolly is — to upend the system. If anyone's going to do it, I think he has a better chance than a run-of-the-mill Democrat.' A lot could change ahead of the August 2026 primary. But the dearth of interest — or of candidates even at the very least floating trial balloons to gauge reaction — stands in contrast to what's happening at the national level, where Democratic hopefuls are already making moves to signal their 2028 presidential interest. The last time Florida had an open seat for governor, in 2018, seven Democrats competed for the nomination. But Jolly could help unify the party with an easy path to the nomination. He told Playbook in an interview that he's hoping the 2026 cycle will be a 'change election' in which voters are driven to outside-the-norm candidates given Trump's policies and how unaffordable Florida has become under GOP leadership. He said he's going to try to bring together not just Democrats but unaffiliated voters and Republicans. 'The ones we've spoken to have either indicated they're not running or they'll support us, either privately or publicly,' Jolly told Playbook of top Florida Democrats. While he does anticipate a primary, he added: 'What I know is we have to unify this primary early if we want to win next November.' Of course, the primary would have been contested early if state Sen. JASON PIZZO had remained a Democrat. Now, they'll just be delaying a showdown. Pizzo plans to run as an independent in a move that has many Democrats concerned he'll serve as a spoiler and deliver the governor's mansion to Republicans. But Jolly and Pizzo have had a chance to talk, and it seems there's no bad blood there. While Jolly didn't disclose details of the conversation, he said he respected 'anyone who follows their convictions,' and that he thinks Pizzo is 'doing what he believes he can do to change Florida.' 'You won't hear me say an ill word about Jason Pizzo,' Jolly said. 'I respect his decision.' Reached by text, Pizzo called Jolly 'bright' and said their conversation went well. 'I commend him for the endeavor,' he said, 'and wish him well.' WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will speak at the Florida Professional Firefighters convention in Palm Beach Gardens at 9:45 a.m. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@ ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... FLORIDA'S NEW EDUCATION COMMISSIONER — 'The state Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously backed Anastasios Kamoutsas, the governor's deputy chief of staff who has long played a key behind the scenes role, to lead the agency. Kamoutsas, in accepting the position, pledged to follow through on Florida's reforms on parental rights and school choice that have thrust the state into the national spotlight,' reports POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury. 'During his time with the agency, Kamoutsas, who is known as 'Stasi,' helped the state carry out policies bolstering parental rights, quashing 'wokeness' in education and battling with school districts that pushed pandemic student masking.' TIME IS TICKING — 'State lawmakers forged through a second day of Florida budget negotiations Wednesday, reaching accords on several significant items including how much money they will steer into a program designed to help homeowners hurricane-proof their homes,' report POLITICO's Gary Fineout and Bruce Ritchie. 'Lawmakers are racing to wrap up their budget work in time for a mid-June vote — about two weeks before the end of the fiscal year. The two sides agreed to spend half of the $200 million proposed by Senate President Ben Albritton, a citrus farmer from Wauchula, to boost the state's ailing citrus industry. That includes $70 million for replacement trees, less than the $125 million he had proposed.' STATE PARK SLASHES — 'Florida's renowned state parks would suffer under state House and Senate proposals for the 2025-26 state budget, supporters of the public lands said this week,' reports POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie. 'Budget negotiators from both chambers met publicly Tuesday for the first time on a 2025-26 state budget. The House proposal that passed in April would slash 25 vacant positions in the Florida Park Service as part of a workforce reduction across state government.' RESERVOIR CLAW BACK — 'State House and Senate budget negotiators agreed this week to revert $400 million in spending approved last year for a controversial Central Florida reservoir to appropriations for the coming year,' reports POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie. 'The two sides also got closer on slashing funding from the 2023 state budget for the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a priority of then-Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples).' NEW LIFE FOR AP AND IB — 'The Florida Legislature's latest budget proposal could relieve concerns of local schools that feared devastating funding losses were coming for top programs like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate,' reports POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury. 'A Tuesday offer by the state Senate scraps a previous plan that would have reduced by half the bonus funding levels schools receive for a list of popular programs, replacing the idea with a new section of the budget for these costs. Lawmakers say this proposed change would ensure schools can still score coveted extra cash for AP, IB, Advanced International Certificate of Education, dual enrollment and early graduation, while giving the state a clearer picture of where the money is going.' STILL FAR APART — 'The state House and Senate made some progress Wednesday in hammering out the state health care budget for next year, but the two chambers' proposals are still more 2,000 vacant agency jobs apart when it comes to possible cuts,' reports POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian. 'The latest budget offer presented to the Senate by House Health Care Budget Subcommittee Chair Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) on Wednesday afternoon called for cuts of more than 2,900 vacant jobs, still well over 2,000 more than the 454 cuts proposed by the Senate. Andrade had asked the health care agencies facing the proposed job cuts to justify why those positions should exist. None of the agencies offered a justification, and the state Department of Children and Families, which could lose 802 vacant jobs under the latest House offer, did not respond.' NO HOPE FOR HOPE? — State Rep. ALEX ANDRADE (R-Pensacola) proposed cutting millions of dollars from Hope Florida's state funding early on in the dedicated two-week budget conference which started on Tuesday, Alexandra Glorioso and Lawrence Mower of the Miami Herald report. Andrade spent a good deal of the session investigating Hope Florida, the state program spearheaded by Florida first lady CASEY DESANTIS intended to gradually get Floridians off government assistance. The cuts would affect 20 Hope navigator positions who work on a helpline that connects Floridians in need to nongovernment assistance. MUSEUM DISCONNECT — 'The House is failing to go along with proposed funding for several Holocaust museum projects across the state,' reports Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics. 'St. Petersburg's Florida Holocaust Museum was chosen to hold a permanent exhibit to preserve the legacy of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor who later won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Senate is proposing to fund the exhibit with $850,000 while the House doesn't want to fund it at all.' LAND ON CABINET AGENDA — The governor and Cabinet next week will consider buying 75,000 acres of conservation easements in rural north central Florida. The state would pay $93.6 million to Weyerhaeuser Forest Holdings, Inc. for an easement over 61,389 acres in Baker and Union Counties. And the state would pay Blackbottom Holdings LLC $24.3 million for an easement over 14,743 acres in Baker and Bradford counties. The Tampa Bay Times reported that the Cabinet also will consider a proposal by Cabot Citrus Farms, a golf course developer, to sell 340 acres in Hernando County near where it sought to acquire state forest land in a controversial 2024 trade deal that was recently scrapped. — Bruce Ritchie BALLOT INITIATIVE LATEST — 'A federal judge on Wednesday placed a temporary halt on part of a new law tightening Florida's control over ballot initiatives. But he refused to press pause on the entire measure,' reports POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian. 'A group called Florida Decides Health Care filed a lawsuit in Tallahassee federal court about a month ago challenging a new state law. The measure has been heralded by DeSantis and other state GOP leaders as the solution to fraud allegations made by state elections officials as campaigns gathered enough voter-signed petitions to qualify for the ballot. The new restrictions also come with hefty penalties and tight deadlines critics believe were designed to make the state's citizen-led initiative process unaffordable for most groups.' TALLAHASSEE ICE RAID — The families of more than 100 ICE detainees say they are struggling to locate their loved ones, Ana Goñi-Lessan and Valentina Palm of USA Today Network — Florida. The detainees, construction workers who were arrested at their job site, were taken into custody by ICE during the largest immigration raid in Florida this year. Some remain in Florida, some were sent to El Paso, Texas, and some are already in Mexico less than a week after being detained. Family members' questions about the whereabouts of some of the detainees have been unanswered since May 29. — 'Florida quickly appeals injunction against law aimed at keeping kids off social media,' reports Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida. — 'Florida's National Guard will soon leave state prisons,' reports Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times. PENINSULA AND BEYOND NO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says it is following city attorneys' legal advice by not enforcing the city's two-month-old immigration enforcement law which serves to punish people who enter Jacksonville while they are in the country illegally, reports David Bauerlein of the Florida Times-Union. City Councilor KEVIN CARRICO, who introduced the legislation, said the lack of enforcement undermined the will of City Council and the state Legislature by siding with 'open-border politics.' — 'Hialeah's $45,000 farewell to Bovo: When public money pays for private parties,' by Verónica Egui Brito of the Miami Herald. — 'It's not just his wife. Lee County undersheriff has another relative on the payroll,' by Bob Norman of the Florida Trident. TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP FREE LAND FOR PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY — 'Of the locations considered, FAU in Boca Raton, Fla., emerged as the preferred site because of its proximity to Mar-a-Lago, a private Trump club,' report The Wall Street Journal's Meridith McGraw, Josh Dawsey and Annie Linskey. 'A person familiar with the negotiations said that Trump's team is nearing a deal with FAU — which has offered a 100-year lease at no cost — and that Trump expressed interest in the university during a meeting with lawyers at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.' ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN BIRTHDAYS: Former Chief Financial Officer and gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink, founder of Ruth's List … former State Rep. Seth McKeel … Heidi Otway, president and partner at SalterMitchell PR. CORRECTION: Wednesday's newsletter incorrectly stated that the Stanley Cup finals began in Florida on Wednesday. The first game was in Edmonton.
