Overview

• President Trump has privately complained for over a year that Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have fallen short of bolstering his agenda, citing Barrett’s vote to release nearly $2 billion in frozen foreign aid.
• Allies on the right have stoked his displeasure by labeling Barrett “weak” for her recusal in a Catholic school funding case and other rulings that diverged from hard-line conservative expectations.
• Despite public praise for the Supreme Court’s role, Trump has openly attacked Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo on Truth Social, accusing him of offering “bad advice” on earlier nominations.
• His first post-inauguration slate of 11 judicial nominees, five of whom faced the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 4, includes attorneys known for defending state abortion bans and challenging federal transgender protections.
• Democrats and civil rights groups have sounded alarms over the nominees’ records on reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights even as the narrowly Republican committee moves toward confirmation.