AILSA CHANG, HOST:
One of the most powerful architects of America's conservative movement and of the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court is Leonard Leo. He co-chairs the board of directors of the Federalist Society, which led campaigns to support nominations for the high court from Clarence Thomas to Amy Coney Barrett. Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep asked Leo earlier today about the opportunity he sees for the judiciary in the new Trump administration.
LEONARD LEO: Well, as in the first administration, you know, President Trump has an opportunity to put more individuals on the bench who are committed to interpreting the Constitution as it's written and as it was understood by the Founding Fathers. You know, there aren't as many vacancies as there were in the first term, but there are a few on the Courts of Appeals in some pretty important parts of the country - probably about five or six of those. And you never know. There's always the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy. So it's an opportunity for the president to sort of further solidify an originalist constitutionalist approach to the law in the federal courts.
STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: Are you assuming that there will be some justice who will at least think about retiring in the next few years?
LEO: I think it's probably unlikely just given where the court currently is, and the ages of the justices and their respective health. But you never know. It's always a possibility. And every administration I've ever known has always prepared for that contingency just to make sure.
INSKEEP: I want to note for people you speak a lot about the rule of law. You're interested in the rule of law. The president-elect has appointed judges and justices whose view of the law you very much like but also tends to decide for himself what he thinks is illegal or proper and also wants to punish his critics. Are you concerned about the rule of law in this moment?
LEO: Well, fortunately, we have a constitutional system that protects against any rash or hasty action by presidents or by other public leaders. The separation of powers helps a lot in that regard and an independent judiciary, and so do the checks and balances between Congress and the executive. So there's always that risk in any system of government, but it's the best system of government, I think, we've ever seen in the world in terms of really making it hard for those things to happen.
INSKEEP: The president's critics, as you know, feel that there are a number of justices and judges that ruled in his favor again and again in a number of these criminal cases that he has faced. Do you believe that the justices that you did so much to bring to the Supreme Court would, in fact, rule independently of the president who appointed them in the years ahead?
CHANG: And you can hear Leo's answer to that question and more about his plan to, quote, "crush liberal dominance" on Monday's Morning Edition.
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