Popular Democracy PAC Denounces Trump’s Supreme Court Nomination

Ana Maria Archila calls the Republican senate’s rushed nomination process “an assault on American democracy”

New York, NY — In response to the news that President Donald Trump is nominating Amy Coney Barrett to replace the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement:

“Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat is a blatant power grab, abetted by Senator McConnell and his Republican cronies. In an administration defined by lawlessness, bitter partisanship and destruction, today’s act stoops to a new low. Moving forward with Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination will further erode every democratic institution and ideal on which our nation was founded. If the Senate cares anything about the oath they swore to protect the Constitution and serve the will of the people, they should halt any nomination before the 2021 inauguration. 

The power of the Supreme Court flows directly from our ability to elect a president and senate who shape its composition. In her dying words, Justice Ginsburg said, ‘My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.’ Nonetheless, President Trump and Sen. McConnell have blatantly ignored the voice of the people by pushing through Barrett’s nomination less than 40 days before the election. 
Barrett is a threat to our healthcare, reproductive freedom, to immigrant rights, equality and the wellbeing of American democracy writ large. She stands in direct opposition to women’s right to choose, to the fundamental rights of LGBTQI+ people, and to the Affordable Care Act—which has resulted in health care access for more than 20 million people.  For years, Barrett has been a member of a faith group that teaches that husbands must be the head of a household, countering decades of progress championed by feminist icons like Justice Ginsburg. 

We ask Republican senators to stand on the right side of history and put the will of the people before partisanship. With 200,000 people dead from the pandemic and millions without employment, they should be focused on one thing: getting us out of the pandemic and helping our economy recover. They should not move heaven and earth to rush a Supreme Court nomination. 

We call on congressional Democrats to use every power available to them to block this nomination. The president has refused to say he will peacefully accept the results of the election if he loses, and today’s nomination of Barrett makes this scenario even more plausible. A court with Barrett will not protect our votes; it will protect Trump’s desire to stay in power.

And we call on voters to recognize what is at stake. The first order of business for the new justice would be to approve Trump’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and rip away healthcare from millions of Americans in the middle of a global pandemic. And further decisions made by the Supreme Court will impact issues that will shape all of our lives — from abortion to segregation, transgender rights to climate change, big money in politics to education and the fate of millions of immigrants for whom this country is home. That’s why we need to fight, organize, and come out and vote in unprecedented numbers, so Vice President Biden sweeps the election in a decisive, unambiguous victory. A historic mobilization of the country is our last and best chance to protect our rights. 

 
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The Popular Democracy PAC aims to make sure that Black, Brown, and anti-racist white-led organizations have the resources they need to build a popular democracy and organize for progressive candidates.
 

For press inquires, contact: press@populardemocracy.org