Washington, D.C.—People For the American Way (PFAW) today released a new report tracking the impact of the narrow-minded elitist judges appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the Republican Senate. The report, Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: The Continuing Harm Already Done by Confirmed Trump Federal Judges, illustrates the damage done to workers, consumers, voters, immigrants, women, and many more over the past two years.
“The record number of judges appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate to lifetime posts on the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals is by far the biggest impact thus far of the Trump presidency,” PFAW Senior Fellow Elliot Mincberg said. “These narrow-minded elitists like Amy Coney Barrett and Amul Thapar have repeatedly demonstrated the danger posed by the Republican effort to remake the judiciary.”
In addition to Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, Republicans have confirmed 37 Trump circuit judges—and are eager to confirm more by the end of Trump’s term in office.
Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears contains examples of decisions that highlight the danger of the right-wing push to stack the nation’s courts, including:
- Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch cast deciding votes that approved indefinite detention of some legal immigrants, put into place the Trump military transgender plan, and authorized the immediate execution of a prisoner before a lower court could even consider his religious discrimination claim.
- Trump-appointed 7th Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett voted to allow a corporation to racially segregate its workplaces
- Trump-appointed 5th Circuit Judge Don Willett cast the deciding vote to give Trump the power to fire the head of an independent housing finance agency set up by Congress
In cases where they did not have enough votes to form a majority, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, along with Trump judges on the courts of appeals, made clear in dissents that with more support from additional Trump judges, they would do even further harm to Americans’ rights concerning voting, religious liberty, privacy, LGBTQ rights, money in politics, gun safety, and more.
Learn more:
- Read the report summary.
- Read the full report.
- See a judge-by-judge summary for those judges who are on Trump’s short list for the Supreme Court.
About PFAW
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy. Learn more: https://www.pfaw.org.