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senate majority leader
For Our Rights and Our Future, the Senate Must Get To Work on Judicial Confirmations
Focusing on confirming judges will make a tremendous difference in our lives and for our fundamental rights and freedoms.
Sep 13, 2024
President Biden has already accomplished an incredible amount to help create a federal judiciary that works for everyone. From the confirmation of more than 200 qualified and diverse lifetime judges (and counting) to advancing a long-overdue conversation about modernizing and reforming our Supreme Court so that we can one day trust that it provides equal justice for all, we are making important progress. At a time when the extremist majority on our nation’s highest court has rolled back the progress we have made—taking away the fundamental right to abortion, removing a vital tool for eliminating unfair barriers to educational opportunity, weakening voting rights for communities of color, and more—the task of improving a damaged judiciary is daunting.
It’s no surprise that the public’s trust in the judiciary is declining, as reports persist about some Supreme Court justices’ deeply concerning unethical behavior. Our justices should be serving all of us, but some of them are showing that they are only concerned about the interests of the wealthy and powerful. As we live in this reality, we must also do the work to foster a federal judiciary that respects, recognizes, and advances our civil and human rights.
Our justices should be serving all of us, but some of them are showing that they are only concerned about the interests of the wealthy and powerful.
It is incumbent on every generation to protect the progress made and work toward a more inclusive and thriving democracy and society in which everyone is treated with respect and dignity. Unfortunately, in the past few years alone, a manufactured and coordinated campaign has taken us back—but we are not backing down. We are fighting for a better future where our rights, our lives, and our future are respected. For this to happen, our Supreme Court justices must be held to the highest ethical standards, and Congress must explore all options to improve how the Court functions and thus examine its structure, including limiting the amount of time justices can actively serve. In the next few months, there’s also important work that must be done that will make a real difference in our lives. Federal judges decide important cases from who can access health care to whose votes are counted. And for our democracy to endure, we need highly qualified, fair-minded individuals in courtrooms across our nation who will advance equal justice for all.
President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin have helped to make a significant impact, stewarding more than 200 confirmations of lifetime judges and justices to our federal courts. This includes ushering in the most diverse slate—both demographically and professionally—of federal judges in history. Nearly two-thirds of these confirmed judges are women, nearly two-thirds are people of color, and more than 40 percent have significant experience protecting people’s civil and human rights. Of course, President Biden appointed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman and first former public defender to serve on our nation’s highest court, and her service to date has been remarkable. A few weeks ago, President Biden also announced his support for long-needed changes to the Supreme Court, including a binding code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.
Transforming our federal judiciary so it not only looks like America but also recognizes and respects the rule of law—and how laws impact people's lives—has been a cornerstone of President Biden’s administration. Together we have changed the default of who is considered fair and qualified for the federal bench because we know that a judiciary staffed with brilliant people committed to equal justice—people whose experiences have been historically excluded—yields better decisions and is more reflective and representative of America. We celebrate this remarkable progress. But we cannot relent.
Time is of the essence. We need laser-like focus to fill every vacancy possible by the end of the year.
The jurists who President Biden has appointed will be serving for decades to come—far outlasting his impressive four years in office. To honor his legacy and to ensure justice is served in more corners of our country, progress must accelerate. Over the next few months, senators must urgently prioritize the confirmation of diverse judges who possess a deep commitment to our civil and human rights.
Now that the Senate has returned, we urge senators to seize every opportunity to make an immediate and lasting difference. The Democratic-led Senate, under the leadership of Majority Leader Schumer, has already confirmed several nominees this week and has now confirmed 209 lifetime nominees during the Biden administration. Dozens more are awaiting action in committee or on the Senate floor. This includes numerous nominees with critical civil and human rights experience, including experience defending religious freedom and protecting the rights of working people and those involved in the criminal-legal system. Time is of the essence. We need laser-like focus to fill every vacancy possible by the end of the year.
For some comparison, President Trump during his one term in office was able to confirm 234 nominees to lifetime judgeships with the avid assistance of then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In the final months of his one term, the Republican-led Senate confirmed 30 judicial nominees, including a Supreme Court justice. We can exceed the previous administration both in numbers and quality—and we must. While we have a long way to go until we have equal justice, it’s imperative that Schumer accelerate this progress and continue to use every moment over the next few weeks and months to fill as many judicial seats as possible. With focus and determination, the Senate can leave President Biden the legacy of appointing a stunning number—more than the last administration—of superbly qualified judicial nominees.
Focusing on confirming judges will make a tremendous difference in our lives and for our fundamental rights and freedoms. We need to take all necessary steps to strengthen our judiciary so that our multiracial democracy can thrive and equal justice prevails.
President Biden’s legacy deserves no less. And our future depends on it.
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Progressive Charles Booker Challenges McConnell in Groundbreaking Grassroots Campaign
"We won't beat Mitch McConnell by running to the soft center and not taking any real positions... Democrats have tried that, and it fails every time."
Jan 09, 2020
With a launch this week of a progressive challenge to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky state legislator Charles Booker argued this week that only a visionary and pro-working class agenda--as opposed to the tried-and-failed centrism from other Democrats--is the only way to topple the powerful Republican leader who has grown out of touch with and betrayed his constituents.
The 35-year-old first-term state House member officially announced his run Sunday with a video he posted to social media and a pledge to "take Kentucky's future back" from McConnell.
"You know the name of the man I'm talking about, but he doesn't know your name," Booker says in the video. "He doesn't see you in the hospital bed or in the checkout line or at the safety drills in your classroom. He doesn't see you at all... He doesn't need hope or faith. He's got money and power."
Booker is a strong advocate of progressive policies including Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, and wrote in a letter to voters posted on his campaign website that his life experience has given him a deep understanding of the struggles facing many Kentucky residents.
"I feel the urgency of what it really means to be living in the poorest zip code in the state," Booker wrote. "As a diabetic paying as much as $1,000 a month for insulin, I have seen how the healthcare system has let us down. After getting an education at the University of Louisville, I was faced with the stark reality of student debt--like so many other people in this country."
Immediately after Booker announced his run in the Democratic primary, McConnell sent an email to his supporters denouncing his new opponent as a "radical liberal" for whom "the left-wing mob" would "funnel millions" into the campaign.
"Mitch, please. This is pitiful," Booker tweeted in response. "Mitch McConnell has 'radically left' Kentucky behind, and sold us out for political gain."
Booker's highest-profile opponent in the Democratic primary is Amy McGrath, who has criticized Medicare for All proposals and launched her campaign last summer by casting herself as a pro-Trump Democrat, saying McConnell has impeded President Donald Trump from following through on his 2016 campaign promise to bring jobs to Kentucky and "drain the swamp."
Announcing his campaign, Booker did not mention McGrath by name but made clear his rejection of the notion that a Democrat running in the red state of Kentucky should run as a centrist rather than engaging with working people on the issues and struggles that affect their daily lives.
"There are some even within the Democratic Party that say the only way to beat Mitch McConnell is to ignore the issues. To treat us like we don't matter and to run from some sort of soft center that doesn't take any positions," Booker told a crowd of supporters, who responded with cries of, "No!"
"We've tried that and it loses every time and we can't afford to lose anymore," he added.
\u201cWe won\u2019t beat Mitch McConnell by running to the soft center and not taking any real positions. By ignoring the realities of gun violence and drug addiction.\n\nDemocrats have tried that, and it fails every time. We can\u2019t afford to lose anymore.\u201d— Charles Booker (@Charles Booker) 1578529800
Some recent political developments in Kentucky suggest that the state may be headed for a more progressive future, reminiscent of its past as the home of uprisings by miners against wealthy coal companies.
More than 140,000 Kentuckians won the right to vote last month after the state's new Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, signed an executive order restoring the rights to non-violent offenders who have completed their sentences.
Beshear's victory in November was heralded by journalist Krystal Ball as the result of a "working class revolt," following his Republican predecessor's attacks on Medicaid and workers.
Following Beshear's victory, the progressive think tank Data for Progress revealed a number of poll results from the state, showing high levels of support for teacher's strikes (38%), lowering drug prices by ending patents on medications like insulin (81%), raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour (56%), and shifting to 100 percent renewable energy (55%).
"Teachers, students, union leaders: we're all believers," Booker said in his campaign video. " I'm not the alternative to Mitch McConnell: we are."
Although McConnell has long been a deeply unpopular senator, with an 18% approval rating in Kentucky, his strong ties to Wall Street and the for-profit health insurance sector and his reliance on large donations have allowed him to raise more than $12 million this election cycle.
McGrath has raised nearly $17 million so far and entered the new year with $9 million on hand.
Booker is running without support from a Super PAC, telling Buzzfeed that big money "ostracizes regular people from the political process."
"The majority of us in Kentucky are broke," he told the outlet.
At his campaign launch event this week, Booker rallied supporters--sounding much like 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders--and called on them to join a progressive movement focused not only on defeating McConnell but on investing in Kentuckians' future.
"We do that by building a movement," Booker said.
\u201cIt all comes down to this: Your voice matters.\u201d— Charles Booker (@Charles Booker) 1578438120
"Scared, Mitch? You should be," he added in a tweet this week. "You're not up against a candidate--you're up against a movement."
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