Greater than 80 nationwide and native progressive teams are warning that the nation is dealing with an “unprecedented constitutional danger” over latest assaults towards judges by President Trump and his backers on Capitol Hill.
The 81 teams mentioned in a Thursday letter that Trump and his allies have threatened judges and legislation companies, together with introducing laws to “undercut and intimidate the judicial branch.”
“As organizations representing millions of Americans, we are profoundly concerned by these sweeping proposals and the actions of President Trump, his administration, and his congressional allies to intimidate the judiciary, dismantle the rule of law, and weaponize the executive branch,” the teams wrote within the four-page letter.
“The Trump administration’s authoritarian actions threaten a system of checks and balances that has safeguarded our democracy for nearly 250 years,” they mentioned.
The progressive organizations pointed to public statements from the administration, together with Vice President Vance writing on social platform X in early February that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
The teams additionally highlighted earlier calls by Trump to question U.S. District Choose James Boasberg, who issued a ruling that barred the Trump administration from utilizing the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants.
“Efforts to delegitimize court orders, threaten judges, and erode constitutional safeguards fundamentally threaten American democracy,” the teams wrote within the letter. “Even more disturbing, congressional allies are now attempting to codify these authoritarian power grabs through legislation.”
The organizations emphasised three Home payments that of their view must be rejected: a invoice to make it simpler for government department officers to maneuver instances towards them from state to federal courts, one granting the president authority to spice up the variety of lifetime district courtroom judges, and a measure that limits the facility of district judges to impose nationwide injunctions.
A big majority of People, 70 p.c, mentioned they oppose impeaching judges who rule towards the administration’s needs, a brand new Marquette Regulation Faculty ballot discovered.
Some organizations that penned the letter included Accountable.US, Democracy Ahead, Human Rights Marketing campaign and Public Citizen.
“We urge Congress to stand firm against the assaults on our democracy by rejecting the JUDGES Act, the PEPPER Act, and the NORRA Act,” the organizations wrote, referring to the proposed laws. “We urge legal professionals to speak out against these unjust attacks.”
“Instead, we must strengthen judicial independence and reinforce the separation of powers,” they added. “We demand that the president, his administration, and Congress cease attacks on judges and lawyers and reaffirm their commitment to the rule of law.”
