While Leonard Leo may not be a household name, his influence unquestionably resonates throughout the United States, particularly in the realm of judiciary. Leo is credited with orchestrating the conservative stronghold within the Supreme Court, leading to the monumental decision that curtailed the federal abortion rights. He acted as a critical advisor to President Donald Trump, aiding in the endorsement of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. This trio was pivotal in creating a 6-3 conservative preponderance in the court, all contributing to the annulment of the formative Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights.
For several decades, Leo has been an eminent figure in organizations like the Federalist Society, along with other conservative legal groups. His influence was instrumental in promoting the careers of law practitioners and aides who agreed with his constitutional viewpoints. Leo backed the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, further cementing his impact on American judicial proceedings.
Having already influenced the national judicial discourse significantly, Leo has now turned his attention towards another major pillar of American society – its culture. His plan is to shape the cultural landscape of America via the Teneo Network, a self-proclaimed ‘talent pipeline’ for conservatives. Leo, along with other like-minded conservatives, aims to mitigate the perceived liberal dominance in domains such as Hollywood and Silicon Valley, amongst others.
The proposed model replicates Leo’s methodology used in constructing a network for judicial nominees. It involves amassing funds from conservative patrons to help recognize and advance the careers of those who share their ideological beliefs. As defined by the succinct description on Teneo’s website, its mission is to ‘Recruit, Connect, and Deploy talented conservatives leading opinion and shaping industries that shape society.’
Reflecting on President Trump’s opportunity to influence judicial constitutions, Leo opined that, akin to his first term, Trump has the chance to nominate individuals who interpret the Constitution in its original written form as perceived by the founding fathers. Admittedly, the vacancies are fewer this time, but the few available ones are in the courts of appeals in crucial parts of the country – five or six vacancies up for grabs. These potential vacancies present an opportunity to strengthen an originalist and constitutionalist approach to federal law.
Lending further insight into his initiatives with the Teneo Network, Leo emphasises its goal to bring conservative perspective to the core of American businesses, such as Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood, much like his efforts swayed the judiciary. His approach involves identifying and propelling young legal aides and new-age lawyers for prominent roles within important industry sectors.
Leo maintains that creating ‘pipelines of talent’ and networks of driven individuals is essential across all sectors of American life. This, he believes, helps in introducing aspects of Western cultural tradition and conventional values. With regard to Hollywood, for instance, he proposed identifying and enlisting young, talented professionals specializing in content creation and other fields of entertainment production.
These professionals, in Leo’s view, should support ‘family-centered entertainment’, a genre with high demand that Hollywood acknowledges. He stresses the importance of helping these skilled individuals find suitable opportunities to use their expertise in creating such entertainment, extending beyond Hollywood. Notably, numerous young professionals in the entertainment, journalism, finance, and business sectors are eager to incorporate their conventional values and the Western cultural tradition into American society and culture.
ProPublica recently uncovered a video of Leo expressing his desire to overcome what he perceives as liberal dominance. When questioned about this, Leo confirmed his intentions, further elaborating on his stance. He aspires to level the playing field, allowing the American public to make choices about the life they wish to lead in their country.
Leo was clear in asserting that he wanted to counteract the dominant liberal influence. His key objective is to facilitate a fair environment where the American populace can choose between an array of alternatives regarding their country’s future. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the current state where sectors such as entertainment, news media, and finance attempted to suppress alternate perspectives.
He harbors particular resentment towards a system wherein left ideology heavily influences sectors that should ideally remain politics-agnostic – where politics and policy decisions are made in spheres that don’t fit within their traditional scope. His ambition, therefore, is to diminish this liberal dominance to ensure diverse ideological representation.