Noah Walsh

Advancing American Freedom led a coalition of nearly 70 amici filing amicus brief in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. at the Supreme Court. These cases challenged Idaho and West Virginia’s laws protecting girls and women’s sports from male competition.

No girl or woman should have her hard work undermined and her accomplishments snatched away by a male athlete. States like Idaho and West Virginia recognize that and have acted to ensure that women’s athletic excellence will continue to be rewarded. We urge the Supreme Court to uphold these laws and ensure that states can protect women’s and girls’ sports.

“Regulating sports in state schools is within the authority of the states but the challengers in these cases wish to nationalize the issue through Title IX or the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause,” said AAF General Counsel J. Marc Wheat. “If these challenges were to be successful, they would turn those provisions of federal law on their head, turning them into weapons against women rather than protections for them. The Supreme Court should not allow that to happen.

Advancing American Freedom and 9 other amici filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court urging it to take up the tariff case and rule for the small businesses that are challenging them. On Friday, August 29, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 that President Trump’s tariffs exceed the power granted to him by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Less than a week later, the government asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. AAF’s brief agrees the Supreme Court should take up this case and rule quickly, though for reasons opposite those motivating the administration. The Court must hear the case and reestablish the separation of powers created by our Constitution.

“America’s Founders believed that the Constitution’s distribution of government powers among three separate branches was the only way to secure the liberty of the people. For a century, progressives have worked to move more and more power to the Executive Branch and away from the people’s representatives in Congress,” said AAF General Counsel J. Marc Wheat. “This case is a crucial tipping point for our constitutional system of government. The Supreme Court must hear the case and must ensure that Congress, not the President, controls the federal government’s taxing power.”

Advancing American Freedom led a coalition of 21 other amici in filing an amicus brief in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission. In this case, NRSC is challenging a provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) that prohibits political parties from coordinating their speech with the candidates they are supporting. As the lower court’s Judge Thapar noted, the Supreme Court’s 2001 decision, FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee, upholding this provision is an “outlier” in the Court’s First Amendment jurisprudence. NRSC is asking the Court to overturn that decision.

“The Supreme Court should overturn its decision in Colorado and restore the free speech and association rights of political party organizations,” said AAF General Counsel J. Marc Wheat. “The FECA provision at issue in this case was unconstitutional when passed by Congress and has become even more burdensome in the intervening decades. Americans do not lose their First Amendment rights when they join a party organization. We urge the Court to rule for NRSC in this case.”

Advancing American Freedom led a coalition of 68 other amici standing for life and donor privacy at the Supreme Court. In First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin, pro-life pregnancy center First Choice Women’s Resource Centers is defending itself and its supporters against a subpoena issued by Matthew Platkin, the Attorney General of New Jersey. Platkin asked a state court to force First Choice to turn over a massive amount of information, including information relating to 5,000 donations. First Choice sued in federal court asserting its First Amendment rights to free speech and free association.

“Pro-life pregnancy centers like First Choice Women’s provide an invaluable service to pregnant women, ensuring that they have the resources that they need to choose life and remain healthy,” said AAF General Counsel J. Marc Wheat. “Private organizations should be able to seek review in federal courts when their First Amendment rights are threatened. We urge the Supreme Court to find that First Choice Women’s can do so in this case.”