At a moment when Democrats in Congress are under pressure to oppose President Trump at every turn, a liberal advocacy group that fought his first-term efforts to remake the federal judiciary is back, with the intent to pile on.
The organization, Demand Justice, went dormant at the tail end of the Biden administration. It was revived recently by Josh Orton, whose career in Democratic politics has included working with Senators Russ Feingold and Harry Reid and serving as policy director to the 2020 Bernie Sanders campaign and as a senior aide to Kamala Harris during her vice presidency.
Mr. Orton, 44, intends to use the Demand Justice megaphone to push Democrats to not just oppose Mr. Trump’s judicial nominees, but “demonstrate steadfast opposition to the dismantling and corruption of our legal system, courts and the rule of law,” according to a memo from Mr. Orton to the group’s board of directors.
The task for Mr. Orton may be steep. The legal system that Democrats had hoped would serve as guardrails against some elements of the Trump agenda is now stocked with his appointees. A conservative majority on the Supreme Court, cemented by his picks, has frequently given his agenda the green light as he asserts broad presidential authority.
And now, Mr. Trump is using the legal system to attack those he considers political enemies, directing the prosecutions of James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and the New York attorney general, Letitia James, among others.
“Certainly there are some Democrats meeting the moment, but I don’t know anyone who would count congressional leadership among them,” Mr. Orton said. “One of the most common phrases in D.C. these days is, ‘I miss Harry Reid.’”
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