Judiciary

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Coons fights to protect Americans’ rights and freedoms.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’ve conducted confirmation hearing after confirmation hearing. My question has always been, ‘do you understand that we all swear an oath to uphold the constitution, not an oath of loyalty to any politician?’ And I have let the answer to that guide for whom I have voted.

He is focused on ensuring equal justice under law for all Americans and protecting the liberties to which we are all entitled – from defending civil rights to safeguarding intellectual property.

As part of his role, he has the opportunity to question and vote on federal judges and presidential appointees. At hearings and in meetings, he pushes federal judges on their commitment to being independent of politics and presidential appointees on their commitment to following the law.

Senator Coons believes that every member of the federal judiciary should be held to the highest ethical standards. He works to strengthen financial disclosure rules for federal judges to ensure greater transparency.

Some of Senator Coons’ accomplishments on the Judiciary Committee include:

Senator Coons wrote and successfully passed the NICS Denial Notification Act, a gun safety bill that requires federal authorities to alert state and local law enforcement when someone prohibited from buying a gun tries to purchase one and fails a background check. These attempted purchases can be a warning sign of dangerous behavior, and alerting authorities can prevent tragedy.
Senator Coons was a key supporter of the First Step Act, a landmark criminal justice reform bill signed into law in 2018. He also led a successful bipartisan effort to work with the U.S. Sentencing Commission to reform federal supervision guidelines to impose supervision only in cases where supervisees most need it, saving money and making sure resources go to those most likely to reoffend. These and other commonsense reforms Senator Coons has championed focus on ensuring those reentering society don’t reoffend and get the support they need, making all of us safer.
Senator Coons led legislation to keep more bankruptcy judges in Delaware to provide fast and fair resolutions of bankruptcy cases, so our economy and businesses can get the stability they need to grow and thrive.
In 2022, President Biden signed into law Senator Coons’ Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, which requires online publication of financial disclosure reports for federal judges to shine a light on outside attempts to influence the judiciary.
Senator Coons negotiated and co-led the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act to ensure we keep our promises to the Afghans who fought alongside our troops for decades, protecting American lives. He has also championed the NO BAN Act to push back on President Trump’s Muslim ban and other blanket immigration bans that separate families, leave refugees in dangerous and deadly situations, and hurt America’s standing in the world.
Senator Coons wrote the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act, the leading bipartisan bill to ensure social media companies are transparent and share more data with researchers. He also led the AI Whistleblower Protection Act to ensure AI whistleblowers can come forward to report significant safety threats. These bills will make sure Americans can enjoy the benefits of innovation from new technologies like social media and artificial intelligence while addressing the harms these technologies can pose to our children and communities.

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