WASHINGTON, D.C.—People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker today issued the following statement on the judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate this week:

“The judges confirmed by the Senate this week include a number of alarming, narrow-minded elitists—including but not limited to nine nominees who would not say that they agreed with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Others would not even assure senators that they would respect the gender identity of people appearing in their courtroom. How could anyone who was not already rich, powerful, and privileged possibly believe that they would get a fair hearing before these judges?

“In just two and a half years, Mitch McConnell has gotten 144 of President Trump’s judicial nominees confirmed. Under President Obama, he did everything he could to keep vacancies open: At this point in his presidency, only 95 of Obama’s judicial nominees had been confirmed. McConnell’s 180-degree turn is easy to explain. The overwhelming majority of Trump’s nominees emerge from a process designed to produce judges who side with the wealthy and the powerful instead of delivering justice for all people. Republicans are counting on these judges to dismantle reproductive rights, marriage equality, and the separation of church and state—and also to shred the New Deal and regulations that protect people from corporate power.

“Americans deserve fair-minded constitutionalists on the federal bench. We deserve judges who show us basic respect and who treat us with dignity when we appear in court. That’s not what we’re getting, to say the least.”

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.

###