Trump's takeover of the entire legal system hinges on this election

[In It to Win It]

The Verge

Conservative courts are strangling the functions of government. Another round of Trump judges will finish us.



Women have died from abortion bans; the full death toll will not become clear for many years to come.

This was a direct and foreseeable consequence of the election of former President Donald Trump in 2016, who oversaw the installation of three right-wing Supreme Court justices during his four years in office. The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the age of 87 should not have come as a shock, but denial can be a hell of a drug. A persistent 5–4 conservative majority tipped over into a 6–3 supermajority.

This is the simplest, clearest case for why you should vote. A president can set a national agenda by speaking directly to the country, and as the de facto leader of their political party, they have traditionally had a heavy influence on national policy and lawmaking. But these are largely powers that exist because of tradition, creative politicking, and the public imagination. The power to nominate federal judges, on the other hand, is a power that is explicitly enumerated in the US Constitution.

The Trump judges have blocked mask mandates, student loan forgiveness, climate regulations, and the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements. The Biden administration made a lot of promises — and while Joe Biden is no FDR, his administration did actually execute on many of those promises, only to be blocked by judges. (Emboldened by this trend, the telecoms have most recently challenged the FTC’s immensely popular “click to cancel” rule in court.) Even before the Supreme Court’s shameless ruling in Trump v. US, the Trump judges have flouted judicial dignity and common sense by meddling in cases against Trump himself.

You think the Supreme Court is fucked? The entire court system is fucked.

[elleng]

1. Nope.