Organizers and Leading Activists Join Calls for Congress to Fix the Broken Supreme Court 

**WATCH LIVESTREAM HERE**

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, leading activists and organizers participated in an online event,“ Stop the Relentless Power Grab Community Kickoff” to discuss the Supreme Court’s MAGA-majority’s plan to rewrite the rules in favor of special interests, billionaires, and major corporations — helping the ultra-rich get richer and the powerful gain more power — at the expense of the American people. The event, (watch here), which has garnered more than a million views, focused in detail on the impact this broken and corrupt Supreme Court has had on our lives, families, communities, and our democracy. 

Over the last two years, the Supreme Court’s MAGA supermajority – including three appointees by former president Donald Trump – has overturned several hard-won civil liberties, including constitutional abortion rights and voting rights, in order to serve the interests of billionaires and major corporations. 

Panelists laid out how these actions undermine the purpose of the Supreme Court, which is to serve as a protector of American democracy. Experts called on Congress to take action to hold MAGA justices accountable, as well as those who enable them, and fix the Court so it prioritizes the rights of the American people. 

“It seems every winter, you are bundled up outside the Supreme Court building imploring us all to pay attention to the schemes afoot at the Court and every summer, you are again outside the Supreme Court building, braving the D.C. heat, once the justices make good on their threats.,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers. “Enough is enough and it’s time for Congress to make a choice: Either stand with their constituents by committing to fix the Court OR stand with the MAGA justices by enabling their relentless power grab.”

“I don’t have to tell you that this Supreme Court has waged war on our reproductive rights and freedoms — you’re seeing that and the impact it’s having on people across the country every single day,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “The Supreme Court threw away decades of precedent with their egregious decision in Dobbs, we’re seeing state Supreme Courts follow on with attacks on abortion and even IVF. And every indication is that these attacks will continue and get worse. Thankfully, in 2022 and 2023, we saw people across the country stand up and make their voices heard against this relentless power grab.”

“As my team and I knock on every door and call every number, we are inspired to fight for the Court and for a democracy our community members deserve,” said Jessica Brittain, Organizing Director of Action Together NEPA. “We deserve a Court that protects our freedom to make our own health care decisions, including abortion care; our freedom to build our families with who we love and know that we will have equal access to care for each other; our freedom to be heard at the ballot box and in the workplace.”

“What the Supreme Court has done over the past few years has been to declare war on young Americans’ most fundamental freedoms, whether that’s freedom to choose, whether that’s freedom to live in a world that has clean air and clean water,” said Santiago Mayer, President of Voters of Tomorrow. 

“Elite conservatives have long understood if they could get their people into high ranking judicial positions, they could unleash unchecked power over time,” said Patrick Gaspard, CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “This is the result of a long-term coordinated effort, not just in the Supreme Court, but in the state courts and district court.” 

Speakers at the event included American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson,  Indivisible Co-Executive Director Ezra Levin, CEO of Center for American Progress Action Fund Patrick Gaspard, Voters of Tomorrow President Santiago Mayer, LUCHA Chief of Staff Abril Gallardo, Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju, Action Together NEPA Organizing Director Jessica Brittain, National Education Association Secretary-Treasurer Noel Candelaria, Worker Power Field Director Maggie Acosta, and the Turner Conoly Group CEO Ashley Allison.