Friend,

Right now, Trump and McConnell are disrespecting Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish.

They’re trying to ram through a new Supreme Court justice right before the election. And they have the Senate votes to do it.

This is an outrageous power grab and a dismantling of our democracy that we cannot allow.

As laid out in our Constitution, the judiciary branch of our federal government is meant to represent the will of the people. But with voting already underway, the GOP doesn’t care about our voices or our constitutional right to determine the makeup of the Supreme Court.

The GOP is intentionally stealing this seat so they can lock in right-wing minority rule for decades.

Sign now to demand Congressional Democrats use every procedural tool available to block Republicans’ illegitimate Supreme Court power grab.

In the Supreme Court and federal courts, judges appointed by popular vote losers have gutted our voting rights and enabled states to deny millions of people health coverage. With a 6-3 conservative supermajority on the Court, conservative Justices will likely try to dismantle any progressive legislation for decades to come.

One week after Election Day, the Supreme Court will hear a case on whether to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which has protected the healthcare of tens of millions of Americans.

With a 6-3 conservative supermajority, the Supreme Court will likely undo abortion rights, eviscerate protections for marginalized communities and the environment, and roll back rights for workers and protesters. They’ll aim to disenfranchise us permanently (especially people of color) through rulings on the redistricting process and other important regulations around voting.

Our basic rights and the future of our democracy are at stake.

And there’s yet another authoritarian reason why the GOP is throwing rules out the window to move more quickly on this than they have on hundreds of bills, including much-needed COVID-19 relief. They’re setting up a backup plan for how to contest the election if Trump loses.

And that’s why my Democratic colleagues in Congress and I can’t wait until after the election. Trump’s planning to announce a nominee tomorrow or Saturday—we have no time to wait.

We have to treat this moment like the all-out crisis it is. We have to fight like hell to delay this illegitimate nomination process in every single way we can, for as many days as possible.

We have a duty to the American people, as the first line of defense in the resistance to authoritarianism.

Join me in calling on Congressional Democrats to use every single tool at our disposal to block the GOP from confirming an illegitimate Supreme Court justice.

We have the mandate of the American people behind us in Congress.

Despite gerrymandered districts designed to disenfranchise people (especially Black people and other people of color), Democrats have a clear majority in the House of Representatives.

And right now, because states each get two Senators regardless of population size, Senate Democrats represent 15 million more Americans than Senate Republicans do.

Despite holding more seats in the Senate, Senate Republicans do not represent a majority of Americans.

This has allowed Senate Republicans to continually block the progressive legislation we’ve passed through the House, even as a majority of the public supports our ideas.

As Black activist Bree Newsome tweeted, “This is fundamentally about a power struggle between those who want to ensure white conservative minority rule v. a multiracial democracy” in the U.S.¹

The GOP will do anything to preserve their power through minority rule. They can’t win otherwise. That’s why we have an impeached President who lost by 3 million votes about to nominate his third Supreme Court justice.

We can’t let this happen. We can’t keep ceding ground. We must use every tool at our disposal to block an illegitimate Supreme Court appointment that will permanently affect all our lives.

But instead of blocking Senate processes, 19 Senate Democrats instead started the week off by voting for one of Trump’s federal court nominees!

We’re in a fight for our lives, and all Democrats in Congress need to act like it. We can, and we must, shut down business as usual in the Senate. Every day counts.

Please sign now to tell Democrats in Congress: Use every tactic possible to shut down the Senate and stop Trump from stealing another Supreme Court seat.

Here are some of the tools that Senate Democrats can use to delay this illegitimate process:

• Refuse “unanimous consent.” The Senate operates on “unanimous consent” agreements, or U.C.s, which set the terms and schedule for daily business. If even one Senator objects, the U.C. is blocked. So if at least one Democratic Senator is on the Senate floor at all times, they can simply say “I object” when Republicans try to pass a U.C. If they do this for all routine processes, thereby forcing votes and debates constantly, Senate Democrats can grind the Senate to a halt.
• Delay the Judiciary Committee’s actions. The committee’s rules state that at least two members of the minority party must be present for the committee to conduct meetings or do business. Also, any member can request a week’s delay for nominations. (In addition, by denying U.C.s, Senate Democrats can block committees from meeting past the first two hours after the Senate convenes each day.)
• Require a quorum of 51 Republican Senators in order to conduct any Senate business. In order to conduct business without U.C.s, the Senate needs a quorum of 51 senators to be present. Senate Democrats can force Republicans to bring 51 (out of 53) senators to the floor in a “quorum call,” which would massively delay Senate business.

McConnell’s been pushing his Republican caucus to stick together in exploiting Senate procedures to outmaneuver Democrats for years. It’s time for us to do the same, in the name of our democracy and our constituents.

Sign now to demand Congressional Democrats use every procedural tool available to block Republicans’ illegitimate Supreme Court power grab.

Thank you for taking action. And please keep doing so.

We need all of us doing everything we can right now, including protesting in the streets, writing a letter to the editor in your local newspaper, contacting voters so we flip the Senate and win the Presidency, and more. Whatever energy or time you can devote to this fight, it matters. (If you’d like to call voters in the crucial swing state of Michigan, sign up to join us here.)

We’re all in this together.

Rashida