Trump’s Attacks on Our Justice System
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 14, 2020 – Of all the ways President Donald Trump has undermined our democracy and the rule of law, his massive reshaping of the courts will be the hardest to undo. Today, Alliance for Justice releases its comprehensive report Trump’s Attacks on Our Justice System: 2017–2019, cataloguing the unprecedented number of judges Trump has appointed, their ultraconservative views, and the various norms Senate Republicans have abandoned to fast-track these confirmations.
The numbers tell the story. Compared to Obama’s first
three years in office, Trump has appointed as many Supreme Court justices
(two), twice as many appeals court judges (50 vs. 25), and significantly more
district court judges (133 vs. 97). In fact, the Senate confirmed 80 district
court nominees just this past year.
Trump has already flipped three circuit courts of appeals.
Consistent with Trump’s promised litmus test, his
judges overwhelmingly support gutting the Affordable Care Act, including the
protections for people with pre-existing conditions that he falsely claimed to
have “saved.” Judges have been nominated
solely for their opposition to reproductive freedom and their willingness to
overturn Roe v. Wade, while others have ugly records of attacking the
LGBTQ community. Many judges have
records that speak to their demonstrated opposition to environmental and worker
protections that most Americans strongly support. As the report details,
Trump’s judges are ready and willing to turn back the clock across our rights
and legal protections.
“The consequences of Trump’s judges will be felt for
generations,” Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron said. “From health care
to civil rights to clean air and water, Trump and Senate Republicans, in just
three years, have done great damage to our country, our Constitution, and to
the rule of law.”