The stakes for our environment, our health, and our democracy have never been higher, and the fight over this Supreme Court vacancy could not be more important

Below is the full speech given by League of Conservation Voters SVP for Government Affairs, Tiernan Sittenfeld, speaking at this morning’s rally to #SaveSCOTUS.

Click here to sign the petition to Senators asking them to oppose Trump’s anti-environment judicial nominees.

Hi I’m Tiernan Sittenfeld, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs with the League of Conservation Voters. The stakes for our environment, our health, and our democracy have never been higher, and the fight over this Supreme Court vacancy could not be more important to the League of Conservation Voters and our more than two million members across the country. The rights of all people in this country to breathe clean air, to drink clean water, and to participate equitably in our democracy hang in the balance with this Supreme Court vacancy, not just for today or tomorrow or next week or next year but for decades to come. The League of Conservation Voters stands with all of our allies here today and across the country, and we are ready to fight with all we’ve got.

Unfortunately, Trump has already nominated many extremist, anti-environmental individuals to federal judgeships– threatening both bedrock democratic institutions and environmental laws that protect our air, water, lands, wildlife, and health. And now some of those radical individuals are on his list as potential Supreme Court nominees.

For example, one of them worked with Scott Pruitt when he was Oklahoma Attorney General. Now he’s the most corrupt and anti-environmental EPA Administrator we’ve ever had, and he referred to this potential Supreme Court nominee as a “dear friend and trusted counselor,” with whom he worked on multiple cases challenging the EPA’s ability to protect clean air and address climate change.