AFT’s Weingarten on Final Supreme Court Rulings of the Term

WASHINGTON-AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement responding to the year's final slate of opinions from the Supreme Court:

"This court is on a mission to shamelessly shift the balance of power in the country toward big money and corporate interests and away from the American people.

"In nearly every decision of consequence this term, whether on campaign finance rules, LGTBQIA+ rights, refugee rights or the right of independent agencies to regulate in the public interest, the conservative supermajority has taken the side of dark money billionaires against regular citizens-and then reverse engineered a legal rationale to fit its ideological priors.

"And even though Americans can breathe a sigh of relief today on the issue of birthright citizenship, it is truly shocking that three justices simply do not believe in a right plainly spelled out in the text of the Constitution.

"While the White House rails against 'activist judges,' it is clearer than ever that the real politicians-the real threat to our democracy-wear robes and reside on the Supreme Court bench. It's why the American people have lost all faith in the court as an institution, an erosion of trust that will likely never be rebuilt without fundamental reforms."

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The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.