Subcommittee Ranking Member Johnson’s Opening Statement at Hearing on Republicans’ Attacks on Judicial Independence
Washington, D.C. (June 24, 2025)—Today, Rep. Hank Johnson, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, delivered opening remarks at a hearing on President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ attacks on judicial independence.
Below are Ranking Member Johnson’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at today’s hearing.
WATCH Subcommittee Ranking Member Johnson’s opening statement.
Ranking Member Hank Johnson
Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet
Hearing on “Fiscal Accountability and Oversight of the Federal Courts”
June 24, 2025
I’m honored Judge St. Eve and Judge Sutter were able to travel to D.C. to testify before us today. I am especially grateful because the Administrative Office of the Courts was already called upon by the majority to present themselves for a hearing earlier this year. While it is always an honor to have the AO before us, I wonder at the necessity of having you all here again so soon.
The lawyers, judges, and former judges in this room have a very different perspective on the United States court system than most of our constituents back home. For most Americans, the few times they walk into a courtroom is one of the more anxiety-inducing, stressful times of their lives. Whether that stress is as minor as a traffic ticket, as heart-wrenching as a divorce case, or as potentially life-changing as a harmful product dispute, most of us don’t end up in front of a judge unless something has gone wrong.
But at least we know we have protections for when we do have to go to court. Americans are guaranteed a speedy trial, a fair trial, and the right to counsel if you cannot afford one. Congress also allocates the funds the judiciary needs to make those constitutional guarantees come true. But even with those rights protected, when Americans stand in a courtroom on one of the worst days of their lives, some of us find ourselves standing in a building that is falling apart, no attorney available to represent us, waiting for hours to have our day in court.
Under the leadership of MAGA Republicans and the Trump Administration, it is harder than ever for the judiciary to serve the American people. Last Congress, we had a deal to allocate the judicial conference’s request for more judges over a 10-year period, starting with the next unknown President. But Republicans broke their word to ensure that federal judges would be allocated only if Trump won. Cyber-attacks on sensitive judiciary systems are on the rise, but the Trump administration is taking apart our cybersecurity infrastructure that keeps us safe. Even our buildings aren’t safe from Donald Trump! Our courthouses are crumbling, but he’s ending the leases for courthouses and building that are in use for the American people.
One might think that programs guaranteed under the Constitution would be an exception, but that doesn’t appear to be the case either. When Congress passed the CR in December, the Federal Defender Services budget was frozen at the level from the year before, leaving the program with a critical shortfall. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an attorney in criminal proceedings, and under federal statute, courts are required to appoint counsel from Federal public and community defender organizations or from a panel of private attorneys established by the court.
Without counsel provided by the courts, thousands of Americans accused of federal crimes would go unrepresented. Without funding, the federal defenders won’t be able to provide counsel. Without the federal defenders, prosecutions can’t go forward under the Constitution. You see, everything breaks down when the federal defenders are not able to do their jobs. And that’s the cliff the judiciary is headed towards without the requisite funding.
Finally, personal attacks on individual judges have driven an increase in threats to federal judges over the past 10 years, and especially the last six months. I refuse to accept the idea that we have become a country where judges, judicial staff, and their families can be threatened, intimidated, or killed just for doing their jobs. Americans, no matter where we fall politically, no matter who we vote for, deserve to be able to walk into a courtroom and know that the person sitting on the bench will adjudicate their case fairly, with no design toward making one political party or another happy out of fear for their safety. That starts with funding judicial security. Let’s not play around with judges’ lives to make a political point.
This committee can be where we divorce federal funding from the politics of the moment. Where we can all agree to fund the judiciary so that judges can continue deciding cases free from political pressure. Where we say that no matter what our politics, the third branch is coequal, and should not be interfered with. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses as to what resources they need to continue their work, and I yield back the remainder of my time.