Enemies of the Supreme Court

May 18, 2023 | Washington, D.C.

by Eagle Forum Executive Director, Tabitha Walter

Perhaps one of President Donald Trump’s greatest accomplishments while in office was nominating three Justices who were confirmed to the United States Supreme Court. Since then, the Court has worked to correct the un-American and destructive path that is being foisted upon our nation by the liberal agenda. However, the Court’s sane and Constitutional decisions supporting American values have stirred up the left’s anger.

After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization effectively overturned Roe v. Wade, protestors became violent. Almost daily, protestors have been present at the Supreme Court.  In violation of federal and state law, they have also been protesting at the Justices’ homes. Extreme abortion groups posted the addresses of the pro-life Justices and gave marching orders. One man even crept around Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in the night with intentions to kill him and his family. Fortunately, he was taken into custody. After these events, Congress passed bills that allowed all Justices and their family members to have increased security.

While the physical threats are occurring less frequently, the left is still using alternative tactics to intimidate the Justices they don’t like. We have seen harassment and lies hurled at Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett not only during their confirmation hearings, but consistently since then. One such strategy has been the character assassinations of spouses. For years, the liberal media has gone after Justice Thomas’s wife Ginni Thomas for her role in political activism. They have scrutinized her friends, colleagues, finances, social media posts, correspondences, and attendance at events. The January 6th Committee even targeted her for her whereabouts on January 6th, 2021.

Similarly, Chief Justice John Robert’s wife, Jane Roberts, experienced a recent attack on her profession. After decades of being a successful attorney, she stepped into a recruiter role to pair job-seeking lawyers with firms and corporations two years after her husband’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. The left did not like her success in that arena, however. The media is criticizing her earnings to make it seem she shouldn’t earn a paycheck because of her husband’s position.

This is the left’s hypocrisy on display. When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s husband continued his work at a law firm representing billionaires like Ross Perot after her confirmation, not a cross word was whispered by the media nor was a Senate investigation conducted regarding his dealings. The same party that claims to empower women are telling these women that they must forsake their careers, duty to country, and personal beliefs for their husbands’ careers. The left’s “pro-woman” agenda is simply a political power grab.  

Senate Democrats have started to join the outside voices in calling for the originalist Justices to step down. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at a hearing on May 2nd in which the committee would scrutinize Justice Thomas’s ethics surrounding a friendship with a Republican donor. Justice Roberts responded by rightfully declining the invitation in a letter stating:

Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.

Democrats are still eyeing court packing as well. Since 1869, the Supreme Court has consisted of nine justices. While the Constitution does not specifically identify how many justices should be seated, “nine seems to be a good number,” at least according to Justice Bader Ginsberg. Yet, just this week at a press conference, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the Judiciary Act to expand the Supreme Court by adding four seats. His claims that Republicans “hijacked the court” and “stole the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s seat” are blatantly false. It’s no surprise that Planned Parenthood Senior Vice President Jaqueline Ayers stood alongside Sen. Markey to cheer on this piece of legislation in hopes to reinstate Roe v. Wade.

With this threat underway, House and Senate Republicans are standing firm. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has introduced a resolution to create a Constitutional amendment limiting the number of Supreme Court Justices to nine (S.J. Res. 21). Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has introduced the companion bill (H.J. Res. 1) in the House. They will ensure that an expansion of the Court will not happen any time soon.

The upcoming Supreme Court cases may end up adding insult to injury for Democrats as well. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on issues that Democrats have championed for decades. One such issue is the highly debated topic of affirmative action. The Court will consider the two cases of Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College to determine if Asian American and white students were unfairly treated in the admission processes of these two colleges.

Another case that is being labeled by the left as a “LGBT rights” case is actually about free speech and religious freedom. 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis will determine if individual business owners can have creative freedom to deny services based on events that violate their sincerely held beliefs. In this situation, graphic designer Lorie Smith refuses to provide websites for same-sex weddings or events. We have seen a win on this issue before. In Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Court ruled in favor of business owner Jack Phillips for refusing to create a cake for a same-sex wedding.

One topic that Democrats have recently begun rallying around is federal student loan forgiveness. During the COVID pandemic, President Joe Biden issued a moratorium on loan payments, however, he has continued those past the pandemic and is trying to keep it indefinitely. This would cost the federal government billions of dollars. The Court will decide this summer on a pair of cases, Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown that will determine the fate of student loan payments.

With so much at stake, all eyes will be on the Supreme Court Justices and their cases over the next several weeks. Eagle Forum will watch these decisions closely and inform you of the outcomes.