Demand Justice Names New President to Fight Trump Judicial Push

Demand Justice tapped a former top adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris to lead its reinvigorated effort to oppose President Donald Trump’s judicial appointments and his “attacks on the core function of the judiciary.”

Josh Orton, who also worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) 2020 election bid, disclosed on Tuesday his new role as president of the liberal judicial advocacy organization known for its brass-knuckle tactics.

“My mandate is clear: to provide bold, creative, strategic, and morally clear leadership that builds power in the fight for our courts and the rule of law,” Orton said in a memo to the organization’s board. The campaign will also pressure Democrats to fall in line.

Demand Justice underwent a leadership shakeup toward the end of Joe Biden’s presidency, after co-founders Brian Fallon and Christopher Kang stepped down. Fallon then served as senior communications adviser for Harris’ ill-fated 2024 presidential campaign.

Under Orton, the organization pledged to revive bold opposition tactics from the first Trump administration, including some that wrankled Senate Democrats.

Orton said in Tuesday’s memo that the group would use “paid media and grassroots organization” to hold “everyone, including Senate Democrats, accountable if they fail to meet this moment and demonstrate steadfast opposition to the dismantling and corruption of our legal system, courts, and the rule of law.”

They’ll also use their PAC to incentivize opposition to Trump’s agenda from Democrats, including Senate incumbents and candidates, through endorsements of their election bids and “hard money contributions.”

“Simply put: our credibility depends on showing that Democrats who shrink from this fight will face consequences,” said Orton, who’s also a former aide to former Senate Democrats Russ Feingold and the late Harry Reid.

The Senate this year has confirmed eight of Trump’s 26 judicial picks so far.

Democrats have largely dismissed Trump’s judicial nominees this term as unqualified and selected only for their fealty to a president who’s lashed out at judges when they’ve ruled against his policies. That’s until Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) voted to confirm Trump’s nominee for a district judgeship in Florida, Kyle Dudek. That move attracted swift criticism from Demand Justice.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, also faced backlash from Demand Justice after he became the first non-Republican senator to support a Trump judicial nominee this term.

King voted in favor of Joshua Divine’s appointment to Missouri’s US district courts, reportedly after a conversation with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). Divine is a former aide to Hawley.