The Gavel

Federalist Society keeps grip on Trump judicial nominations

by Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld - 05/20/26 8:00 AM ET

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by Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld - 05/20/26 8:00 AM ET

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President Trump’s public break with the Federalist Society, the sprawling conservative legal organization, created uncertainty over the types of nominations he’d make to the courts in his second term.

Now 16 months in, Trump’s new nominees aren’t so different from the last crop of jurists he tapped for the bench.

Key figures associated with the group have long advised conservative presidents on their judicial appointees, making Trump’s shunning over frustrations that the judges they vetted for his choosing weren’t loyal enough to his agenda a dramatic departure.

Despite that, FedSoc’s dominance in the conservative legal movement has made breaking off completely near impossible.

Look no further than the confirmation process for Trump’s nominees. Democrats have continued to try to pin nominees to the organization, and they’ve responded with pride.

“In my perspective, the Federalist Society has been a wonderful place to get together with the many, many lawyers who are members and learn about the law and discuss issues,” Whitney Hermandorfer, Trump’s first circuit court nominee, told senators at her confirmation hearing.

The Gavel reached out to the Federalist Society for comment.

All but one of Trump’s confirmed circuit court nominees have appeared at a Federalist Society event, the group’s website indicates.

The only exception is Emil Bove, one of Trump’s former personal lawyers whom he nominated to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Bove’s nomination wasn’t universally received in traditional conservative legal circles.

Still, Bove has apparently made a connection. He disclosed that he spoke with Federalist Society President Sheldon Gilbert after his nomination.

Bove said the conversation concerned “my work experience, my qualifications for the position, and my judicial philosophy.”

Nominating former personal lawyers is one new element of Trump’s second-term judgeship nominations.

Beyond Bove, Justin Smith, who defends Trump in writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against the president, was nominated to the Eighth Circuit, and Matthew Schwartz, one of his hush money attorneys, has been nominated to the Second Circuit.

Smith is set to speak at a FedSoc summit in Washington, D.C. today.

Many of Trump’s nominees follow similar track records to the judges he selected during his first term; it’s a pipeline created over decades.

Founded in the 1980s to challenge liberal orthodoxy at law schools, The Federalist Society officially takes no position on particular legal or public policy matters.

But it has essentially become a synonym for the conservative legal movement itself, in recent decades propelling a network of young lawyers into successful careers, and in some instances, judgeships.

The groups’ crown jewel was obtained during Trump’s first term, when longtime Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo built the lists that the president chose from to select his three high court nominees: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

As Trump’s second-term agenda has faced roadblocks in the courts, including adverse rulings from judges he put on the bench, including those on the high court, the president’s relationship with the Federalist Society has soured.

After a lower court blocked the bulk of his tariffs last year, Trump called Leo, a “sleazebag.”

“Sleazebag ‘influencer’ and lawyer Leonard Leo, who has legal issues of his own, goes around telling everyone how he has the Legal System RIGGED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February. “I hope that’s not true and, if it is, it should be thoroughly looked into.

“Leonard has a big and very dangerous mouth!” he added.

Despite the president’s public anger, it hasn’t stopped his administration from showing up on the speaking circuit at the group’s marquee events.

Later this week, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward is among the speakers for the group’s executive branch summit in the nation’s capital.

And at FedSoc’s annual convention, now-acting Attorney General Todd Blanche joined for a fireside chat. Several other senior department officials across the administration have appeared as well.

Before we jump into the rest of this week’s legal news, one bit of housekeeping from your authors: This is Ella’s last edition, as she embarks on a new career op