People For the American Way is standing with our progressive allies and champions in Congress to resist Trump and advance a pro-equality agenda. Together, we strongly support the Equality Act. Read More
This piece originally appeared in Huffington Post. In recent decades a critical role of the federal government has been to enforce laws that protect marginalized communities from discrimination, with offices in multiple agencies focused on investigating wrongdoing and curbing civil rights abuses. But with the Trump administration in power,… Read More
In these challenging times it is abundantly clear that we need new voices, new ideas, and fresh perspectives more than ever. Read More
Introduction Democracy in America would not exist without the right to vote. Yet being able to cast a ballot that counts is one of the hardest-fought battles in American history, and one that still rages on today. Untold blood was spilled by the foot… Read More
This post previously appeared on the Huffington Post. Stimulated by comments from Republican Senator Charles Grassley and unnamed White House sources, speculation is rampant that Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire from the Supreme Court this summer. For the values and rights that most Americans cherish, the results of a resignation… Read More
This report discusses 22 critical divided rulings in six areas that are likely to be overruled or significantly undermined if Justice Kennedy leaves the Court and is replaced by a Trump nominee like Gorsuch: LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights, civil and voting rights, the environment, protection from corporate abuse, gun violence, and protection from government abuse. Read More
Billed as a policy to give more flexibility to workers, in reality it is a smoke-and-mirrors proposal that trades guaranteed flexibility or time off for a pay cut. It is an empty GOP promise that does nothing to achieve fair work schedules for everyday Americans. Read More
This was originally posted at Right Wing Watch. President Trump’s first 100 days in office, judging by his own campaign promises, have been a disaster, with his administration bogged down by scandals, infighting, and ineptitude. While Trump has now complained that the 100-day benchmark he set for… Read More
PFAW believes strongly that the Education Department and its Office for Civil Rights remain critical safeguards against discrimination in education, and we will work to ensure that Trump's dangerous team doesn't forget that. Read More
As we mark the second anniversary of the first African American woman attorney general in the history of the United States, it's what Loretta Lynch and her predecessor, Eric Holder, meant to civil rights that keeps us fighting. Americans won't let Jeff Sessions take justice out of the Justice Department. Read More
Americans won’t sit idly by as dangerous extremists take over our government. Read More
Not only is PFAW on the lookout for Trump policies that ride along with the budget, we're also looking at the budget itself to see how many of his misguided funding priorities are taken up by the GOP Congress. Read More
The Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Judge Neil Gorsuch Makes Even More Clear That His Nomination to the Supreme Court Should be Rejected Beginning on March 20, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee held four days of hearings on the nomination of Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch to… Read More
This morning, a unanimous Supreme Court rejected Judge Neil Gorsuch’s formula that lowers the bar on what schools must do to educate children with disabilities. Since this happened while senators were questioning him at his confirmation hearing, it provided an excellent opportunity to discuss why Gorsuch had adopted an… Read More
During Neil Gorsuch’s committee hearings this week and the debate to follow, we can expect Republicans to echo one of the major talking points: a panel of the American Bar Association deemed him “well qualified,” their highest rating. (The same rating, it should be noted, received by President Obama’s nominee,… Read More
Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is an extreme candidate chosen from a list handpicked by extreme right-wing groups. Any suggestion that this man is impartial and even-handed enough to take a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court is shameful. Gorsuch’s record on the Tenth Circuit… Read More
Christian conservatives have long viewed federal courts as obstacles to their Christian-nation goals When Donald Trump sent White House adviser Stephen Miller onto the Sunday morning talk shows, Miller’s most chilling comments were his repeated attacks on the federal judiciary and his assertion that “the powers of the president to… Read More
Many, if not most, decisions by the Supreme Court and the courts of appeals are unanimous. Reviewing the cases where an appellate judge has chosen to disagree with and dissent from his or her colleagues, therefore, can be particularly revealing. And that is precisely the case… Read More
Who is Neil Gorsuch? Most people had never heard of him until Tuesday night, when President Trump introduced him to the nation as his nominee to the Supreme Court. The far right loves Gorsuch because they see him as being nearly identical to Justice Scalia, whom they portray as the… Read More
President Trump has stated that he will announce his Supreme Court nominee next Thursday, February 2. Reports are that the choice is down to four white male appellate court judges, all of whom are far-right candidates recommended by the right-wing Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, and each of whom would… Read More