The Court’s right-wing MAGA majority is shredding the Constitution and denying our rights.
By Paul
Gordon
During Donald Trump’s second term, his administration and
allies have been using the force of government to intimidate the American
people into surrendering our constitutional rights. So in a system based on
checks and balances, that means the Supreme Court has never been more
important.
With Congress under the control of ultra extreme forces,
it’s been up to the courts to stop Trump from becoming a tyrant. Across the
country, district and some circuit judges nominated by both Democratic and
Republican presidents have shown themselves up to the task.
However, their patriotic work is all too frequently undone
by Trump’s collaborators at the Supreme Court. As we prepare for a new Supreme
Court term, we should be aware of how the far-right justices have already
chosen to help Trump take our democracy apart, piece by piece.
Most notoriously, before the 2024 election, they infamously
ruled that he cannot be prosecuted for illegal actions he takes as president.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
In the Trump v. CASA case last June, they severely
cut back on the ability of courts to effectively block enforcement of
even the most blatantly unconstitutional policies. In that case, the Court’s
MAGA majority allowed Trump and his administration to carry out policies that
are likely unlawful during the months or years it takes for the merits of the
case to be decided.
The CASA case was about stripping Americans of their
citizenship based on their parents’ immigration status, so-called birthright
citizenship. But the dangerous principle applies to the violation of any
constitutional right.
As Justice Sotomayor wrote in dissent, “No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates.” If you’ve ever criticized or insulted those in power and been grateful for your First Amendment freedom to do that, then you have reason to worry.
The Court majority is also letting
Trump send masked agents to engage in a violent campaign of terror
against California Latinos targeted by racial profiling. In addition,
they’ve let
him disappear people to foreign countries to be imprisoned and likely
tortured under brutal conditions.
Any of us could be next.
That isn’t all. The far-right justices have let Trump illegally
fire members of independent agencies that protect our rights and
safety and are supposed to be insulated from political pressure. They’ve let
Trump unlawfully dismantle the Department of Education during the
course of litigation over his plans to end it, even though only Congress has
the authority to shutter the agency.
And in another case, they let
him unilaterally cancel nearly $800 million in medical research grants that
would help us combat conditions like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and substance
abuse.
Helping Trump abuse power isn’t the only way the current
far-right majority targets people’s freedom, dignity, and rights. During the
new term, they’ll be hearing a case from Louisiana where they may once again
severely undercut what’s left of the Voting Rights Act. They also seem likely
to further weaken our nation’s laws limiting money in politics.
They may let states bar transgender girls from school
sports. They may strike down state laws protecting LGBTQ+ children from the
harmful practice of conversion therapy. And they may make it harder for victims
of religious liberty violations in prisons to sue the people who violate their
rights.
If the current Supreme Court majority angers you, that’s
good. Let that anger be part of what motivates you to protest, to peacefully
resist, and to bring about the change we need. Because the most powerful force
in our country is the American people, millions of people strong, standing up
for our rights.
Paul
Gordon is People For the American Way’s senior legislative counsel. This
op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.