TAKE BACK THE COURT ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

Aaron Belkin To Retire as President; Sarah Lipton-Lubet Takes Helm

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 17, 2022) — In 2018, Aaron Belkin sounded the alarm on the stolen Supreme Court by starting Take Back the Court, the first organization dedicated to Court expansion. Now, after four years of relentless advocacy to put the issue on the map, he’s stepping into retirement. Sarah Lipton-Lubet, the group’s executive director, will take the reins and step into a new role as president of Take Back the Court.

Over the past year and a half, Belkin and Lipton-Lubet have worked hand in hand to grow the organization and enhance its impact, bringing important new allies into the fight. Now, more than 60 members of Congress and 130 organizations have pledged their support for Court expansion.

“When I watched political leaders who oppose the very idea of democracy launch an unprecedented assault on the rule of law by stealing a seat from a sitting president for partisan gain, I knew our democratic system was in trouble — and I knew every other issue we cared about was at stake, too,” said Belkin. “Founding Take Back the Court and building a movement for expansion — the only immediate and proportionate solution to the crisis of our rigged Court — has been one of the proudest accomplishments of my career. We’ve made tremendous strides these past four years, and I know that, under Sarah’s leadership, the organization will continue to reach even greater heights.”

As president of Take Back the Court, Belkin elevated Court expansion from the fringes of the national policy conversation to the center of the judicial reform debate. Under Belkin’s leadership, Take Back the Court built a board of talented lawyers, scholars, and thought leaders, worked closely with lawmakers on the Hill, submitted powerful testimony to President Biden’s Supreme Court Commission, and made the case for expansion to the public through research, op-eds, appearances on MSNBC and more. As founding director of the Palm Center, Belkin spent 24 years using research to inform public opinion about LGBT service members, and he has been credited for playing a leading role in the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” as well as the military’s transgender ban.

"Aaron is both grounded and visionary, a thinker and a doer,” said Evan Wolfson, founder of the Freedom to Marry campaign and Take Back the Court Advisory Board member. “He's a talented scholar with a grasp on how to use facts, research, and reason to persuade the public and decision-makers. But he also sees four steps ahead in the work — anticipating and laying the groundwork for the fights progressives need to champion next to make future change possible. We've worked side by side through decades of organizing and change -- from his early and methodical work that helped secure the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' to, now, our work together on Supreme Court expansion. Aaron should be so proud of his many contributions to needed change, past and to come; America has benefited from his leadership and accomplishments."

“I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with the visionary Aaron Belkin during my tenure in Congress,” said former Representative Mondaire Jones (NY-17). “His work to support my Judiciary Act is a reason why a majority of Americans today support Supreme Court expansion. Aaron will be deeply missed. However, he could not have picked a more worthy successor than Sarah, and I am incredibly excited to see the work that she will do for Take Back the Court in the coming years."

“We’re at a pivotal moment right now in the fight to save our democracy,” said Heather McGhee, author, chair of the board of Color of Change, and Take Back the Court Advisory Board co-chair. “We need talented and courageous leaders championing real solutions to the crisis of our illegitimate Court — that’s what Aaron did when he brought Supreme Court expansion from just a fringe idea to a mainstream democratic policy goal in just a few short years, and it’s what Sarah will continue to do as she forges a new path for Take Back the Court moving forward. Aaron’s work to bring the organization and Court expansion to prominence has been remarkable, and after having worked with Sarah over the past 18 months, I couldn’t be more sure she’s the right leader for this next phase of work.”

Sarah Lipton-Lubet joined Take Back the Court in 2021 after spending the better part of two decades advocating for reproductive freedom, gender equity and progressive change. She brings extensive experience in the fight against the right-wing takeover of the Court from her prior roles at the National Partnership for Women & Families, American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights and other leading advocacy organizations.

“The movement to expand the Court gained the strength it has today in no small part because of Aaron, and I’m so grateful to have worked side by side with him and so many of our incredible coalition partners over the past year and a half to help make that progress happen,” said Lipton-Lubet. “I joined Take Back the Court because it was all too clear to me that if the Court was going after our abortion rights, I had to be part of the fight to take on the Court. And more and more, the American people have come to the same understanding I did: that under this illegitimate and partisan right-wing supermajority, our rights, our freedoms, and our democracy can never be safe. This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the first since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion — a grave reminder of what is at stake. And as the Court continues to go after the rights and values we hold most dear, I’m more committed than ever to reining in this out of control institution and restoring its integrity.”

“I’ve had the privilege of fighting alongside Sarah to protect abortion rights for over a decade, and I can say with absolute certainty that her whip-smart intellect, foresight, and brave leadership uniquely position her to lead this movement into its next phase,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, president of Reproductive Equity Now. “I’m so excited to see what new strides Take Back the Court will make with Sarah at the helm — if there’s anyone suited to make the bold moves we need to make to protect our rights and expand the Supreme Court, it’s her.”

“Sarah has spent her entire career fighting the good fight and advocating for real progressive change,” said Nancy Gertner, Harvard Law professor, former U.S. federal judge, and Take Back the Court Advisory Board member. “Sarah seamlessly pairs her intellectual firepower with her commitment to social justice to spearhead bold, creative strategies that center the people targeted most aggressively by this lawless Court. In our new post-Roe landscape, I can’t imagine a more fitting leader to chart a new path for Take Back the Court than Sarah.”

Follow along with all of Take Back the Court’s work on its website.