Congresswoman Bush Statement on the Supreme Court’s 2023-24 Term
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 2, 2024)— Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) released the below statement following the end of the Supreme Court’s 2023-24 term:
“The Supreme Court will do anything to embolden and empower dangerous extremists threatening communities like St. Louis. This far-right majority on the Court does not serve the people of this country—it serves Donald Trump and his MAGA cult, and wealthy corporations exploiting our communities. Each passing day, the Court continues to lay the foundation for a future where our rights and freedoms are stripped away, our democracy is degraded, and Donald Trump can evade accountability and advance Project 2025 unchecked.
“In the past week, the Court’s right-wing, pro-insurrection faction has granted Trump partial immunity from criminal prosecution and opened the door for complete impunity for his role on January 6th, greenlit the criminalization of homelessness, left millions of people in states like Missouri and Idaho vulnerable to bans on emergency abortions and other attacks on reproductive rights, and enabled a total assault on the power of federal agencies to regulate polluters, pharmaceutical and health insurance companies, companies who violate labor rights, and other bad actors. Its cruel and callous decisions flout decades of precedent in order to shield the wealthy and powerful, including the 34-times-convicted former President, from accountability for the harm they have caused our communities.
“Let me be clear—this Court is an empowered arm of a growing fascist power grab and it will not stop here. These right-wing justices have no interest in protecting democracy; in order to safeguard democracy, Congress must act. That’s why I have introduced and supported groundbreaking legislation to hold Members who helped incite the insurrectionist accountable, secure and expand our reproductive rights and freedom, protect our unhoused community and build more housing, and ensure agencies can take action against Big Oil, Big Pharma, and other harmful corporate actors. It’s also why I co-lead the Judiciary Act to expand the Court, support impeachment proceedings against lawless justices, and support legislation to enact a binding code of ethics and term limits. While this far-right Court may not have our backs, our movement does. We will continue our work to turn this Court into a body that protects our rights instead of stripping them away.”
Congresswoman Bush is a leader in advocating for access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s attack on reproductive rights and the rights of unhoused people.
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Following the Dobbs decision, Congresswoman Bush sprung into action and introduced several bills, including the Protect Sexual and Reproductive Health Act, Abortion Justice Act, Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act, Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, and Reproductive Health. Most recently, Congresswoman Bush introduced the bicameral Stop Comstock Act, alongside her colleagues, which would effectively repeal the Comstock Act, a zombie law that Republicans have signaled they are trying to resurrect to achieve a federal abortion ban without having to go through Congress. Congresswoman Bush was also the first lawmaker following Dobbs to call for the repeal of the Comstock Act.
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This April, Congresswoman Bush led 18 Democratic colleagues in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court arguing that penalizing homeless individuals without available shelter violates the Eighth Amendment, and further spoke out in front of the Court urging the Court to uphold the constitutional rights of unhoused individuals. Congresswoman Bush also published an op-ed, alongside Professor Stephanie Sena, ahead of the Grants Pass v Johnson decision, titled: “Whose Streets? Our Streets?”.
Congresswoman Bush is also a leader in the movement for court reform in Congress. Alongside Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representatives Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Hank Johnson (GA-04), and Adam Schiff (CA-30), she introduced the Judiciary Act, legislation that would expand the Supreme Court by adding four seats to create a 13-Justice bench. Just last month, Congresswoman Bush called for the resignation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and in April 2023, Congresswoman Bush called for the impeachment of Justice Clarence Thomas after a barrage of ethics scandals.