John,

Tomorrow, Mitch McConnell is bringing the Senate back into session. But instead of taking action to protect the 30 million Americans who are newly out of work or strengthening the health care system so that we can get the virus under control and get folks back to work, McConnell is forcing the Senate to consider right-wing judges who will undermine our economic security.

Trump and McConnell are committed to installing judges who are as hostile to seniors as they are:¹

Nevermind that the Senate doesn’t have nearly enough COVID tests to ensure a safe working environment for Senators and their staffs. Instead of taking action to help the 30 million Americans who are newly out of work or strengthen protections for nursing homes struggling to keep their residents alive during the pandemic, Mitch McConnell is pushing ahead with dangerously unqualified nominees.

Add your name! Tell the Senate to halt judicial confirmations during the pandemic! We need to defend Social Security and block this outrageous nomination.

Stephen Schwartz, the judge named in that Washington Post headline, once argued that Social Security should be abolished because economic disparity “is a natural aspect of the human condition,” according to a Washington Post report. [2]

Senator Sherrod Brown sounded the alarm about Schwartz just before the pandemic hit:

Trump’s nomination of Schwartz is not an isolated incident. His selection is part of a coordinated campaign by Trump and GOP allies in the Senate to get archconservatives on the federal bench. Their goal: use the judiciary to do what they have failed to do legislatively. Social Security and Medicare are among the most popular programs in the country. But the avalanche of judicial extremists that Trump and McConnell have confirmed could dismantle our Social Security system piece by piece.

The Republican-controlled Senate has confirmed two Supreme Court justices, 51 Circuit Court judges and 137 United States District Court judges, according to a Washington Post tally, which recalls the White House’s own news release which said it was focused on “transforming our judiciary.”

Sign the petition and demand the Senate stop its assault on our judiciary system in the midst of a pandemic. Instead, prioritize those most in need, including those on the frontlines.

There is a crisis in this country, but it’s not judicial vacancies. Millions of Americans are out of work, and unable to pay their rent. Corporations are forcing workers to choose between feeding their families and risking their lives. States and cities are going to be forced to layoff firefighters and teachers because the pandemic has blown a hole in their budgets. And we can’t hold an election in a pandemic without a massive investment in vote by mail infrastructure!

Instead of addressing any of those problems, Trump and McConnell are focusing on confirming awful people like Schwartz to lifetime appointments.

While at Yale, Schwartz wrote the departments of Transportation, Agriculture and Education lack a “constitutional basis,” and that Social Security benefits were intended to prevent “outright starvation” but had become a “standard component of most retirement programs.” Those aren’t just bad opinions―they’re scary in the hands of our judiciary.

We can’t let this type of dangerous thinking find a home in the federal judiciary. Add your name! Tell the Senate to oppose this outrageous nomination.

We’re building a national coalition to pass legislation that protects and expands Social Security. And when Social Security is threatened we’re going to rise up to defend it. And that includes when Trump and his GOP allies try to confirm radical opponents to the federal judiciary.

Thank you for your support,

Michael Phelan
Social Security Works