Move On – November 15, 2024

Will you sign the petition to urge President Biden and the Senate to confirm as many judges as possible in these next four weeks?

Dear MoveOn member,

We are preparing now for a Donald Trump presidency. We know that the worst and most unconstitutional policies he will try to pass will be battled out through the courts—and so does Trump. That’s why in his last term, Trump stacked the courts—appointing more than 200 judges to the federal bench.¹ And he’s poised to do the same thing come January 2025.

Let’s be clear: Trump’s nominees have, and will continue to, put in place policies that are contrary to the values of the American people.

With only a few weeks left before the new Congress and incoming Trump administration, it is now more urgent than ever that Democratic senators do whatever it takes to confirm judges in the lame duck.

Right now, there are 29 judicial nominees awaiting Senate confirmation votes. We have to act urgently to confirm as many judges as possible. Will you add your name to the petition and urge President Biden and the U.S. Senate to take action NOW to fill current vacancies in the federal courts before Trump takes office?

In just four years, President Biden and the Senate have confirmed 215 judicial nominees—including historic Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The majority of these appointments were women and people of color, increasing the racial diversity of the federal courts.² But with Trump poised to take over the White House in just a couple of months, we have to work quickly to fill all vacant judicial positions before Trump and Senate Republicans start stacking the courts with extremists again.

The Senate needs to be creative in their efforts. Whether it’s working weekends or staying late–judges must be a priority. Add your name to the petition to urge Congress to work swiftly!

Over the next four years, roughly 250 circuit and district court judges are, or will become, eligible for senior status. On top of the current and known future vacancies in states with two Republican senators, there is a very real chance that Trump will get to appoint another 200+ lower-court judges. Not to mention the fact that, depending on retirements at the highest level of our judicial system, he will also likely get to appoint at least two more Supreme Court justices.³ A next Trump presidency is going to dramatically shape the courts for decades to come.

The negative impact Trump’s appointments will have on our rights and freedoms cannot be understated. We’ve already seen the damage the current Trump justices and judges have unleashed on our civil rights. All three Trump Supreme Court justices were part of the majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.⁴ And Trump’s circuit court judges have repeatedly authored or joined anti-worker opinions, including cases which made it harder to file discrimination claims.⁵

This is our last chance to act to confirm judges who will help protect our fundamental rights and serve as the last line of defense to uphold our nation’s laws and the Constitution.

Add your name to the petition, and then share with three friends to help spread the word and put pressure on President Biden and the Senate to act NOW.

Thanks for all you do. 

–Maggie Jo Buchanan, Managing Director at Demand Justice

Sources:

1. “How Trump compares with other recent presidents in appointing federal judges,” Pew Research Center, January 13, 2021
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/13/how-trump-compares-with-other-recent-presidents-in-appointing-federal-judges/

2. “US Senate Democrats rush to confirm judges before Trump takes office,” Reuters, November 12, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-rush-confirm-judges-before-trump-takes-office-2024-11-12/

3. “Trump’s justices decisive in long campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Reuters, June 24, 2022
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-justices-decisive-long-campaign-overturn-roe-v-wade-2022-06-24/

4. “Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: The Continuing Harm Caused by Confirmed Trump Federal Judges,” People For, April 5, 2019
https://www.peoplefor.org/report/confirmed-judges-confirmed-fears-the-devastating-harm-already-done-by-confirmed-trump-federal-judges#workersrights3

5. Ibid.

You’re receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

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