Movement Leaders: Court Cannot Return to Business As Usual Following Unprecedented Power Grab
Washington, D.C. — On Monday, October 7, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin its term with cases that will determine whether Congress can regulate “ghost guns,” whether states can prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, whether the FDA has the authority to carry out its duties, and more. This new term comes after years of shocking rulings by the Court, including overturning Roe v. Wade, letting justices and judges rewrite policy, and empowering a dictatorship if former President Trump is reelected.
Experts from across progressive politics, the labor movement, and the legal world offered the following analysis about the upcoming Court term:
“After years of concerted effort by the right wing to install their representatives on the highest court of the land, the U.S. Supreme Court has grabbed power away from the legislative and executive branches and given themselves near-complete authority to legislate from the bench. With three MAGA justices handpicked by Donald Trump, the Court has stripped away Americans’ reproductive freedoms, taken away student loan relief from millions of borrowers, handed power to corporations and declared President Trump to be above the rule of law. The Court cannot hope to go back to business as usual. The American people deserve a Supreme Court that is committed to the rule of law, not to a political party or extreme ideology, which will require bold action by Congress and the next president to make possible.” – Stasha Rhodes, Executive Director of United for Democracy
“Just weeks ago we held our breaths, waiting to see what havoc the U.S. Supreme Court’s summer decisions would wreak on our communities across northeastern Pennsylvania. While we had given up on the MAGA supermajority ruling with integrity and justice a long time ago, we were still astonished and horrified by how far they went to upend democracy, unleash harm, and trade away our freedoms for political gain. Pennsylvania’s families, students, workers, and neighbors cannot afford to pay the ever-rising price of this unchecked Court. We can’t pretend this new term is a blank slate — we will not forget what the MAGA justices just did to all of us and Congress cannot allow them to get away with it.” – Action Together NEPA Organizing Director Jessica Brittain
"Let the record show that scandal-plagued and ethically challenged radical conservatives on the Supreme Court, three appointed by Trump, have used the power of their seat to take away our reproductive freedoms, to further encroach upon our voting rights, and to give blanket immunity to Donald Trump for past and potentially future crimes, giving him the green light to seize unprecedented power if he's elected president. What freedoms will they take from us next? This coming term will give these activist Justices the chance to abolish commonsense and needed gun safety laws and to dismantle the regulatory authority of the FDA, not to mention weigh in on cases that might arise related to the 2024 election. The Justices on the highest court in the land swore to uphold democracy and protect the rights of all Americans. Instead, six have exercised unprecedented power to upend our democracy and challenge the fundamental basis of our laws and freedoms. The time for reform is now.” – Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
“No matter where we are from, what language we speak, how we pray, who we love, or the color of our skin, we the people—all of us—are guaranteed the rights afforded by the U.S. Constitution. However, the Supreme Court MAGA supermajority has rolled back our fundamental freedoms and undermined the basic balance of power that upholds our republic. Next week begins a new term for an extreme Supreme Court that has routinely made it harder for ordinary Americans to access great public schools, provide for their families, and live healthy lives. On behalf of the 3 million members of the National Education Association, we will continue our advocacy for much-needed and overdue Supreme Court reform that restores balance and integrity to our highest court. One needs to look no further than the court and its decisions to understand that the stakes in this year’s election could not be higher.” – Becky Pringle, President, National Education Association
“We are barreling towards another Supreme Court term, and it’s clear that our rights remain on the line. The court has before it dozens of petitions and cases that present urgent threats to abortion access, gender-affirming care, and beyond. Together with our allies, we will sound the alarm on what’s at stake this term and how the decisions of this court might impact people nationwide.” – Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund
"This is a critical time in our nation. Working people have seen their most basic fundamental rights continuously attacked by greedy corporations and political extremists. As we work to build a just society where all workers and their families live and work in dignity, we must have a Supreme Court that acts impartially and judges cases on merit and legal precedents; not lavish trips and gifts from the wealthy and well-connected. It’s time to restore our nation’s highest court to being an impartial non-political bedrock that advances our multi-racial democracy. Not undermine it. We will be watching. We will be mobilizing. And we will be voting for elected officials who share our vision of equal justice under the law." – April Verrett, President, Service Employees International Union
“In July, the U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wing supermajority dropped their facade of nonpartisanship and put on their MAGA hats in a ruling that empowered dictatorship and further emboldened their allies to grab power and subvert the will of the American people. In the immediate wake of those rulings, Arizonans have been thrown into mounting chaos and fear. Everything that happens this new term stems from this clarified reality and everything — our lives, freedoms, and democracy — remains at stake so long as Congress leaves the U.S. Supreme Court unchecked.” – Rev. Dr. Cathy Clardy Patterson, United For Democracy’s Arizona BIPOC & Faith Outreach Organizer and Chair of Empowering Arizona