The Trump administration continues pushing the limits of executive power, daring the courts to stop it.
When federal judges rule that an action is unconstitutional, the White House responds with defiance. It responds with public attacks. It responds by questioning the legitimacy of the judiciary itself.
And now the Senate is being asked to confirm more judicial nominees handpicked by the same president who continues to flout the Constitution and the rule of law.
Let’s be clear about what that means.
Judges serve for life. Long after any president leaves office, they shape civil rights, voting rights, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ equality, executive power, and the balance between the branches of government. Their oath is not to a party. It is not to a president. It is to the Constitution of the United States.
We cannot allow lifetime seats on the federal bench to go to individuals who will place loyalty to Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda above that oath.
This moment is especially dangerous because the judiciary is one of the last meaningful checks on unlawful executive action. When Republicans in Congress simply rubber stamp Trump’s agenda and the administration is pushing forward aggressively, it is federal judges who determine whether actions are constitutional or not.
And we know that what Trump wants are judges – and justices – who will bend to his will.
After the Supreme Court struck down one of Trump’s tariff schemes, he publicly attacked justices he had nominated. When lower court judges blocked executive orders they deemed unconstitutional, he labeled them extremists and worse. According to recent reporting, serious threats against federal judges have surged dramatically in recent years. Hundreds were targeted last year alone. Judges have received bomb threats. Armed deputies have been dispatched to homes after violent hoaxes. Families have been terrorized. Some judges say they have never experienced hostility like this in decades on the bench.
Retired and sitting judges appointed by presidents of both parties are warning that this climate of intimidation is eroding the rule of law. They fear that inflammatory rhetoric from national leaders is emboldening those who would threaten or harm members of the judiciary.
This is the environment in which the Senate is considering new lifetime nominees.
Confirming judges who are chosen for ideological loyalty rather than constitutional fidelity would only deepen the crisis. It would send a message that intimidation works. That attacking the courts is a viable strategy. That the Constitution is secondary to political power.
The Senate must draw a line.
The rule of law does not defend itself. It depends on public pressure. It depends on elected officials who are willing to uphold their constitutional responsibilities.
Now is the time to demand it.
Tell your senators to oppose every one of Donald Trump’s judicial nominees and defend the independence of the federal judiciary.
