Mazie Hirono

Taken together, these two decisions, Citizens United and Shelby County, have made it harder for millions of Americans to have their voices heard in our elections process.

The Roberts court, in another narrow 5-4 decision in Shelby County, substituted its conclusions for that of Congress and gutted core protections of the Voting Rights Act.

The Court struck down bipartisan laws limiting campaign contributions that went back more than a century and opened a flow of money and potential corruption that has dominated our politics.

We have seen the tremendous, in my view, damage the Court can do to our political process when it tilts the electoral process so heavily against ordinary Americans.

The Court's legitimacy itself is at risk when it strays too far into the political thicket, such as by deciding an election such as it did in Bush v. Gore.

I am deeply concerned about the decision the Court itself, the Supreme Court itself, has made which has tilted the political field so significantly.

You consistently choose corporations and powerful interests over people, ideology over common sense, and, indeed, the purpose of the law.

The sheer volume of speech bought by corporate money drowns out the voices of everyday Americans on important issues.

If corporations are able to spend unfettered money on American elections, what is there to stop a foreign company from funneling money into our elections through its American subsidiary?

The Court adopted a narrow view that only quid pro quo corruption counts regarding campaign contributions and that appearance of corruption, basically, which had also been a concern, is out the window.

If judges are going to work this hard to strain the text of a law to undermine the purpose, which was for the safety and that a driver who made a decision based on that would not be fired, I think that makes it pretty tough for any laws…

Will the Court protect access to our justice system or slam the courthouse door to all but the wealthiest among us?

Will the Court protect our land, water, our earth, or gut decades of environmental regulations?

Will the Court protect the right to vote for all Americans or allow States to use voter fraud as an excuse to disenfranchise vulnerable communities?

Will the Court protect free and fair elections by stopping unfettered campaign spending or allow corporations and the ultra-rich to hijack our democracy with dark money?

Will the Court uphold a woman's constitutional right to choose or upend decades of legal precedent to overturn Roe v. Wade?

Will the Court protect the rights of working people and our middle class or side with corporations who want to dismantle organized labor in America?

During our meeting, I was encouraged when you said that the purpose of Article III of the Constitution was to protect the rights of the minority through access to the courts.

Over the past few months, I have heard from thousands of people who are deeply worried about their families, their kids, and the future of our country under the Trump administration.

If President Eisenhower pursued the same policies President Trump would like to, it is very possible I would not be here today.

For me, this hearing is about the people in this country who are getting screwed every single second, minute, and hour of the day.

It is about LGBTQ Americans who want the same rights as everyone else.

It is about women having the choice of what to do with their bodies, our bodies.

It is about Muslim Americans who are victims in a renewed wave of hate crimes asking for protection from the courts.

It is about the working poor who are one paycheck away from being on the streets.