SEN DEB FISCHER: The left’s war on the Senate and Supreme Court puts our republic at risk
The Democratic Socialists of America recently rolled out a policy platform wrapped in delusional promises — free government-run healthcare, the abolition of the police and prison systems and the defunding of our military. While those proposals sound crazy enough, something far more radical is buried underneath: a call to abolish the Senate and subordinate the presidency and the Supreme Court to a new unicameral body that would choose and control the executive and judicial branches.
That proposal is not just unserious — it is a direct assault on the Constitution. The attacks on the Supreme Court’s legitimacy and the calls to abolish the Senate spring from the same impulse: impatience with constitutional limits on political power. When institutions become obstacles to ideological goals, the answer should never be to tear them down.
That dangerous mindset has consequences beyond political rhetoric. Our Supreme Court justices and their families have been subject to escalating threats in recent years.
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During a recent Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, I heard directly from Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan. Both described a security posture that has not kept pace with the threats they now face. In fact, after the leak of the court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Barrett came home from work wearing a bulletproof vest given to her by her security detail. She recounted placing the vest on a table and having to explain to her 12-year-old son what it was and why she had it.
No justice should fear for their safety because they faithfully discharge their constitutional duty. Yet instead of treating this as the urgent, nonpartisan security matter it is, we continue to hear rhetoric that attacks the very legitimacy of the court as an institution. In 2020, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch would “pay the price” if they acted to restrict abortion. His comments were inappropriate and dangerous. Unfortunately, this sentiment has continued to proliferate and fuel physical threats. More recently, congressional Democrats have called the Supreme Court “corrupt,” “rigged” and “a disgrace.”
Criticism of the court’s decisions is part of a healthy democracy. Justice Kagan said as much herself. But there is a clear difference between criticizing a ruling and undermining the legitimacy of the institution or inciting threats against those who serve on it.
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The same impatience animates the DSA’s call to abolish the Senate. The Senate provides a necessary counterbalance to the House of Representatives. It balances power by granting each state equal representation, protecting smaller states from being steamrolled by larger ones. Because senators serve staggered six-year terms, the body is insulated from drastic swings in public opinion. That deliberate friction is what has allowed the republic to endure for generations.
The three branches of government conceived by the Founders have served our democracy well. Republicans and Democrats alike should reject calls to dismantle our constitutional order.
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Now is the time to reaffirm our commitment to those institutions. Congress can ensure that Supreme Court justices have the security resources necessary to carry out their duties without fear or intimidation.
I will continue making this a priority through my role on the Appropriations Committee. But we need every American to reject the DSA’s reckless calls to dismantle the constitutional framework that has preserved our republic for 250 years.
The answer to political disagreement is not to weaken the Constitution — it is to defend it.
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