The Federalist Society, officially known as the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, was founded in 1982. Since its founding, it has championed “judicial restraint,” the notion that judges should limit their roles to interpreting the law as written, leaving the actual business of lawmaking to democratically elected legislatures. It has grown into one of the most politically influential organizations in the United States while maintaining a low public profile. They are like the “Great and Powerful OZ” in the movie The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy’s dog, Toto, pulls back the curtain, revealing “the wizard” as an ordinary person. His response to being exposed was to plead: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

While attempting to minimize its political influence, the Society has, in fact,  played a significant role in shaping conservative policy, including vetting judicial nominees for Republican administrations. During Donald Trump’s presidency, the Federalist Society worked closely with the administration to promote candidates for federal judgeships. Approximately 90% of Donald Trump’s appointments to the federal judiciary are or were members of the Federalist Society, including six of the nine US Supreme Court justices.. These are the same justices who, espousing judicial restraint, ignored precedent and overturned Roe v. Wade, eviscerated portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1964.

A key figure in the Society is Leonard Leo, a  Co-Chairman and former Executive Vice President. Leo is responsible for obtaining a $1.6 billion gift for his conservative legal network through the Federalist Society. It is believed to be the largest political donation in history. With millions to offer, Leo played a major role in selecting the conservative super majority of the Supreme Court. He advised Trump on the nominations of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Before that, he helped pick or confirm the courts’ three other conservative justices – Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Samuel Alito.

An essential concept in the United States Constitution is the creation of a system of checks on the exercise of government power. It is the division of power between the executive, congressional, and judicial branches that ensures the power of governing would not be greater for one branch of government than another. However, the Federalist Society, with the support of conservative judges and legislators, has limited or eliminated this balance and the selection of nonpartisan judges. It has also worked to eliminate or limit long-standing government regulations against public abuse. This includes working to overturn the right to an abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, affirmative action, regulation of property rights, regulation of businesses, diminishing the power of federal agencies, and elevating freedom of speech over other constitutional rights.

Regulations have been an essential part of ensuring a democratic and fair society. We regulate banks and brokerages. When we deregulated them in the 1920s and the late 1990’s the result was  the Great Depression.

We regulate automobile manufacturers because they have a history of putting profits over the lives of their customers; refineries because their emissions cause cancer and asthma; Drugs because unscrupulous manufacturers killed or harmed people; workplace safety after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire killed 146 young women; and voting because corrupt politicians rigged decisions.

We regulate traffic with signs and stop lights to keep order and reduce accidents; We regulate police to prevent them from abusing innocent people, and we regulate building codes, so people’s homes don’t collapse or catch on fire from faulty wiring.

We enacted regulations guaranteeing a minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and the right to unionize to create the world’s first scale middle class. And we regulated the rich with an income tax rate to prevent them from amassing so much wealth that their financial power could become a threat to our democracy.

In each of these of  the cases where the US Supreme Court eliminated or gutted protective regulations, it was these five Republican appointees.  They ruled that the billionaires can buy politicians because giving money in exchange for votes isn’t bribery, but merely an expression of the 1st amendment protected “free speech.” They ruled that voting is not a right in America but a mere privilege, giving the green light to purge or refuse to count over 4 million votes in the 2024 election. In 1978, five Republicans on the Supreme Court ruled that corporations aren’t soulless creations of the law but are “persons” with the same right to share their “free speech” with politicians who do their bidding. As a result, they found that corporations can use their money to influence politics as merely exercising free speech.

All of this happened because the essential balance of power of the Constitution was corrupted by money and politics. Today, the United States Congress stands idly by, allowing the executive branch, through Trump issue a floodgate of executive orders as if he were a king without restraint. Necessary regulations are eliminated. The Federalist Society appointees to the US Supreme Court rubber-stamp the conservative agenda. The voters stand by and watch without finding a solution. The risk of unpredictable and arbitrary actions by the administration is worldwide conflict and economic disaster. When the majority of voters are impacted by these actions, they will finally react – hopefully before it’s too late.