Civil Rights Coalition: Congress Must Not Enable Trump’s Judicial Takeover

Courts News 03.5.25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McNeil, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an advisor at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement ahead of the House Judiciary Committee’s markup of several bills related to the federal judiciary:

“Our federal courts must work for everyone, not just the wealthy and powerful. For decades, the civil rights community has been working to build an equal justice judiciary that serves and reflects all people, upholds the rule of law and the Constitution, and respects and protects the rights of our communities. Even as we’ve made tremendous progress to this end over the past four years, attacks on federal judges and emerging legislative proposals threaten to undermine the judiciary, enable the Trump administration to continue its takeover of our government that began in 2017, and remove critical checks on the executive. We are also confronting an administration that is expressing a willingness to defy court orders, in addition to Justice Department nominees who are unwilling to say that court orders must always be followed. This is an emergency for our democracy that requires a response, not an irresponsible facilitation of the demise of our federal judiciary to empower the president more.

“Attempts to rig the courts in favor of President Trump — all so he can unleash the harm his administration has already demonstrated they seek to inflict on communities across the nation — are unacceptable. The Leadership Conference is clear that there are real needs for our justice system and a number of proposals that should be considered to modernize our courts and ensure that judges and justices are ethical and transparent, especially amidst the escalating ethical crisis at our nation’s highest court. The bills under consideration today by the House Judiciary Committee, however, fail to meet the troubling moment we face today and only aim to legitimize Trump’s disturbing fantasy that he is king.

“Congress must not give a legal sheen to the autocratic path this president is on and facilitate the incredible harm this administration threatens to cause. Any legislation passed by this Congress must improve the judiciary, strengthen our democracy, and ensure that ‘equal justice under law’ is more than mere words inscribed upon the Supreme Court. At the same time, our senators have the constitutional responsibility to carefully review each and every federal judicial nominee, and they must insist that any judicial nominee approved by the Senate is fair-minded and well-qualified, has a demonstrated commitment to civil and human rights, and will stand up to abuses of power. The Leadership Conference is committed to continuing our decades-long fight to make justice real and ensure our judiciary works for all of us.”

Leadership Conference resources

  • Letter: 85 national organizations demand judicial nominees who are fair-minded, well-qualified, and committed to civil and human rights
  • Report: Persevere: Our Ongoing Fight for an Equal Justice Judiciary (updated February 2025)
  • Fact sheet: Damage to the Federal Judiciary During the First Trump Administration
  • Fact sheet: Project 2025: What’s At Stake for Our Courts, Our Rights, and Our Future
  • Blog: Project 2025 and the Project to Take Over Our Courts and Our Rights

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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