Author: Rachel Rossi

Rachel Rossi is the president of Alliance for Justice and Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, bringing decades of experience as a public defender, policymaker, and advocate for civil rights and access to justice. She most recently served as director of the Office for Access to Justice at the U.S. Department of Justice and previously as deputy associate attorney general, where she became the first-ever Anti-Hate Coordinator. A proud daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Greece, Rossi’s career—from the courtroom to Capitol Hill—reflects her unwavering commitment to equity, reform, and defending democracy.

A Lame-Duck Supreme Court Showdown Could Be Coming

Now that Democrats have officially taken back the Senate, we should expect any number of drastic reactions from Republicans desperate to cling to power. Among them could be a last-ditch effort to extend their control of the Supreme Court by rushing a lame-duck confirmation process in November or December, should Justices Clarence Thomas and/or Samuel Alito (ages 78 and 76, respectively) see it as their last chance anytime soon to be replaced by another conservative.

We must be ready to hold the line.

The Supreme Court Decision Undermining Lower Courts Is Worse Than You Think

In Trump v. CASA, this is the legal framework the Supreme Court has set up: When Trump—or any future president—takes flagrantly unlawful actions against us, the only way to stop it is for each and every person affected to file their lawsuit.

This will create a nation in which only people who can afford legal representation, who live in certain states, or who happen to hold the same political views as the sitting president enjoy the full protection of the Constitution.

Alongside the 2024 Supreme Court ruling granting broad presidential immunity, this new limitation to the power of the judiciary is a devastating blow to the core checks and balances of our 250-year-old democracy.