Who Is Leonard Leo?

Who Is?

What do John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh have in common? They made it onto the Supreme Court of the United States in part as a result of the activity of Leonard Leo, the de facto head of the conservative legal movement. Leo, who until recently led the Federalist Society, is a masterful conductor of a network of nonprofits and advocacy groups that have largely succeeded in transforming the third branch of American government, the Judicial. If Amy Coney Barrett, a Leo favorite, is confirmed by the Senate, the conservative transformation of the courts may be the most significant and lasting accomplishment of the Trump Administration.

• Caroline Fredrickson, a senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and distinguished visitor at Georgetown Law
• Robert O’Harrow Jr., an investigative reporter at the Washington Post
• Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the American Civil Liberties Union

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