John, last night, I had the pleasure of speaking with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.

One big topic Stephen and I discussed was the looming threats Donald Trump’s confirmed judges pose to our rights and freedoms. I mentioned that during Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, I was stunned as Trump-appointed judges wouldn’t outright say Brown v. Board of Education was rightfully decided.

Here’s more of what I said in regards to Donald Trump’s judges and what we’re doing in the Senate to defend our most sacred rights:

“This idea that we are a nation of equality, the fundamental establishment in [Brown v. Board of Education] of this truth about America is that we should be a nation of equality and justice for all. Something as foundational as that is now being put into this sphere of being in question by jurists.

It is an extreme nature of the people Trump’s putting on the court to take precedence, to take patterns and practices, and upturn them.

Me and a lot of my colleagues now, realizing what’s happening and some of the rhetoric that’s coming out of the Supreme Court in concurring opinions and more, have made us move to protect same-sex marriage and in vitro fertilization.”

Also during our discussion, Stephen brought up something that a lot of Americans are feeling right now — the anger around the damage Donald Trump’s presidency dealt to the fabric of our nation, and the overall anxiety people are experiencing as we inch closer to Election Day.

“Americans have a choice: We could surrender to cynicism about our federal government and all the ways we see being anti-democratic, unfair, or unjust, or we could take lessons from our ancestors who never gave up on America.

I believe in America because Frederick Douglass believed in America.

I believe in America because Martin Luther King believed in America, and died for it — Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner, Black and white, Christian and Jewish, were willing to fight to change this country’s laws.

Here’s the truth: Change does not come from Washington, it has always come to Washington by people who are willing to demand and fight for it.”

And I know we will, together, John.

With love and gratitude,

Cory