Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's recent interview with CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford had me laughing out loud—not because he's funny, but because his claims are so absurd they'd be comical if they weren't so dangerous. "We are not part of any political movement, and we are not attempting to further any political agenda," Alito insisted.
That statement is a joke on the American people. The right-wing majority on the Court—with Alito and Clarence Thomas at its most extreme edge—was deliberately constructed to advance a political program. For decades, the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, and a vast network of wealthy donors and corporations have poured resources into reshaping the judiciary, aiming to reverse a century of progressive legislation and return the country to a pre-New Deal, pre-Civil Rights Act era where federal power is weak, unions are crushed, and marginalized communities are ignored.
When Donald Trump was first elected, right-wing activists openly celebrated that his judicial appointments would let them "fundamentally change America." And they've delivered. Alito wrote the 2022 opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, a decision that stripped away a constitutional right and empowered Republican politicians to enact extreme abortion bans. He's also been central to dismantling the Voting Rights Act, most recently authoring the opinion in Louisiana v. Callais, which the dissenters noted made a key provision of that landmark law "all but a dead letter."
Then there's Citizens United. When President Barack Obama warned in his 2010 State of the Union address that the ruling would open the floodgates for unlimited special-interest spending in elections, Alito famously mouthed "Not true." History has proven Obama right. The decision has unleashed a torrent of dark money and corporate cash into our political system, undermining the ability of ordinary Americans to have their voices heard.
Alito has also been a longtime proponent of the "unitary executive" theory, which posits near-unchecked presidential power. This Court has now made that theory a reality, allowing Trump to turn independent agencies into tools of his personal and political vendettas. Alito has spoken at Federalist Society events and other right-wing gatherings, brushing aside ethical concerns about "judicial influence buying."
Senate Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, have been all too happy to play their part. McConnell's refusal to consider Merrick Garland's nomination in 2016 was a nakedly political power grab. After Trump's election, McConnell and his allies gloated about the judicial vacancies they'd kept open for Trump to fill—and they've rushed through even the most unqualified and partisan nominees for lifetime judgeships.
Trump has complained when the Court—but not Alito—has occasionally resisted his most unconstitutional moves. Alito remains a reliable vote and a rhetorical mouthpiece for the administration. He can claim it's "offensive" to call him the MAGA movement's man on the Court, but pretending otherwise is the real joke.
This is why the midterms matter. If Republicans keep the Senate, Trump will continue to pack the courts with judges who make Americans' lives less affordable and more subject to authoritarian impulses. And any Supreme Court vacancy will be filled with someone like Alito, who can be counted on to let the president get away with anything.
Voters should give Democrats a Senate majority to check this assault on democracy. The alternative is a judiciary that serves as an arm of the executive, erasing the checks and balances that have protected our freedoms for generations.
