The Federalist Society is the most influential conservative legal organization in American history. It played a pivotal role in overturning Roe v. Wade (Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization) and making gun rights the number one fundamental right in America (New York State Pistol & Rifle Association v. Bruen). Indeed, six current members of the Supreme Court—the six conservative Justices who were in the majority in Dobbs and Bruen—are current or former members of the Federalist Society.

So last Thursday evening, when the Federalist Society staged its gala event in Washington D.C. to celebrate its 40th anniversary and its triumphant successes in the Supreme Court, it was unsettling to see among the 2,000 guests decked out in tuxedos and evening gowns four of those Supreme Court Justices joining in the celebration—Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. In his address, Alito praised the Federalist Society for its triumphant successes and said he hoped it would continue: “Boy, is your work needed today,” he crowed. The crowd roared with adulation as Barrett, referring to the protests outside her house after the leaked draft in February of the abortion opinion, quipped: “It’s really nice to have a lot of noise made not by protests outside my house.”