Trump Is Nominating New Judges for Lifetime Appointments. The Senate has a Constitutional Duty to Rigorously Scrutinize Them
By: Coby Dolan, Legislative Director of the Access to Justice Program, Earthjustice Action
Over the first few months of President Trump’s second term, we have witnessed an unprecedented attack on the rule of law, with executive orders, memos, and agency actions seeking to silence dissent from law firms, lawyers, universities, and even federal judges. In the environmental space, we are watching this administration advance a radical agenda that undermines our most important environmental and public health protections that will have dangerous consequences for decades to come. Our courts are not only critical to a functioning democracy, but critical to upholding our right to a healthy environment.
Now, President Trump has the power to further shape our federal courts with his recently announced first slate of judicial nominees. If confirmed, these individuals will play an outsized role in determining the power and role of government, our individual rights, and the enforcement of our environmental laws and regulations. As the Senate considers these nominees for lifetime appointments, their “advice and consent” powers are more important than ever. Senators must exercise this constitutional responsibility to ensure that President Trump’s nominees are not carrying out the policy preferences of this largely lawless administration, but impartially upholding the law and democratic values.
Environmental laws that safeguard our right to clean air and clean water, protect endangered species and wild spaces, and compel the government to address climate change all hinge on our ability to enforce them. Federal courts are critical to interpreting laws like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. They determine to what extent the government can act and hold polluting industries accountable if they willfully violate them.
From the U.S. Supreme Court on down, the 234 Trump-appointed judges have played key roles in weakening clean air and clean water protections and severely limiting the scope of bedrock environmental laws that help communities challenge polluting projects in courts. Some have even publicly asserted that federal agencies critical to protecting our environment like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are unconstitutional and illegitimate.
At a time when our environment and our democracy are under threat like never before, it’s up to Senators from both parties to ask the tough questions of these nominees this moment demands. Senators must ask whether these nominees recognize the Constitutional authority given to Congress to craft laws to protect the public interest and empower federal agencies with the authority to promulgate life-saving regulations. When polluting industries or an industry-friendly administration seeks to flout them, judges must hold them accountable.
Environmental laws are only as good as their enforcement. We need judges who believe in the ability of individual citizens to hold polluters and government accountable for actions that negatively impact their lives, livelihoods, and environment. Numerous proposals are floating around Congress right now seeking to limit the ability of citizens and communities from challenging polluting projects, effectively closing the courthouse doors to broad swaths of the population. Judges must view the courthouse as an important place for administering justice equally, not a forum for weakening public protections at the behest of well-moneyed industry interests.
Finally, judges must understand the value of science in crafting and implementing environmental protections and most importantly differentiate between science and politics. They must have a clear record of digging deep into facts and data to fully understand complex issues instead of defaulting to ideological assumptions. When the facts don’t align with their politics, they must put personal views aside and rule on the merits.
Thankfully, many judges across our federal court system are stepping up and serving as a bulwark against some of this administration’s worst power grabs. Judges across the ideological spectrum, including those appointed by President Trump, have issued decisions blocking and slowing down some of the administration’s most brazenly unconstitutional and illegal actions. They are illustrative of the fact that what makes a ‘good’ judge isn’t contingent on ideology or which President nominated them.
The decisions our Senators make on the President’s judicial nominees will have generational consequences. Our environment, our individual rights and liberties, and the basic functions and tenets of our democracy are all on the line. Senators have a duty to assert their independence, ask tough questions of these nominees, and ensure they complete their constitutional obligation to fully vet and only support qualified, impartial, and ethical judicial nominees for lifetime appointments as judges in our federal courts. We can’t afford anything less than rigorous oversight.
