In a 6-3 decision, split along partisan lines, the court struck down a majority-black congressional district in Louisiana, rendering ineffective section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the last remaining powerful provision of the 1965 civil rights law that prevents racial discrimination in voting. Section 2 has long been used to ensure minority voters are treated fairly in redistricting.<\/p>\n
The ruling gives lawmakers permission to draw districting plans that weaken the influence of black and other minority voters. It comes as Donald Trump has pushed for red states to redraw their congressional maps in ways that would help Republicans win more seats in this year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllowing race to play any part in government decision-making represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context,\u201d conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority opinion. \u201cCompliance with section 2 thus could not justify the state\u2019s use of race-based redistricting here. The state\u2019s attempt to satisfy the middle district\u2019s ruling, although understandable, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a dissenting opinion, liberal Justice Elena Kagan wrote the court had now accomplished a \u201cdemolition of the Voting Rights Act\u201d.<\/p>\n
double quotation markUnder the court\u2019s new view of section 2, a state can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens\u2019 voting power. The majority claims only to be \u2018updat[ing]\u2019 our section 2 law, as though through a few technical tweaks. In fact, those \u2018updates\u2019 eviscerate the law.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s decision renders section 2 all but a dead letter. The decision here is about Louisiana\u2019s district 6. But so too it is about Louisiana\u2019s district 2. And so too it is about the many other districts, particularly in the south, that in the last half-century have given minority citizens, and particularly African Americans, a meaningful political voice. After today, those districts exist only on sufferance, and probably not for long.<\/p>\n
Reactions have poured in from lawmakers and civil rights groups, condemning the supreme court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called the ruling \u201ca devastating blow to what remains of the Voting Rights Act\u201d and \u201ca major setback for our nation\u201d. The ruling is \u201ca license for corrupt politicians who want to rig the system by silencing entire communities\u201d, president Derrick Johnson said in a statement. \u201cThe Supreme Court betrayed Black voters, they betrayed America, and they betrayed our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former president Barack Obama said the ruling \u201ceffectively gut[s] a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act\u201d and frees \u201cstate legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities – so long as they do it under the guise of \u2018partisanship\u2019 rather than explicit \u2018racial bias\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a day of tremendous loss. It\u2019s a day of loss for our democracy,\u201d said Janai Nelson, who leads NAACP LDF and argued the case at the supreme court. \u201cIt\u2019s a day of loss for critical protections for the right to vote that have served our multiracial democracy for over six decades. It\u2019s a day of loss for Black voters in Louisiana who have counted on fair maps to allow them representation that they have been denied for their entire existence in that state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophia Lin Lakin, the director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, called the ruling \u201ca profound betrayal of the civil rights movement\u201d. Today\u2019s decision in Callais renders Section 2 moot as \u201cit will be difficult, if not impossible, to enforce in the vast majority of cases,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi called the ruling a \u201cnew blow\u201d against the \u201csacred right to vote\u201d. \u201cThe consequences will be felt across the country: fewer voices heard, fewer communities represented and a democracy diminished,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said, the \u201cawful\u201d decision represented \u201canother step towards resurrecting the Jim Crow south\u201d. The ruling, he said, \u201copens the floodgates for states across the south to redraw their Congressional districts and make voters of color essentially invisible in our democracy\u201d. The court, he said, was \u201ctrying to give Republicans a leg up, an illegitimate leg up, in future elections\u201d.<\/p>\n
His House counterpart, Hakeem Jeffries, called the decision \u201ccorrupt\u201d. \u201cVoter suppression is a way of life for Donald Trump and far right extremists on the Supreme Court,\u201d he said. \u201cRepublicans know they cannot win a free and fair election in November and so they are desperate to rig it. We will never let them succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Georgia senator Reverend Raphael Warnock said the decision \u201cfurther ravaged\u201d the Voting Rights Act and left the country \u201cat a crossroads where politicians are picking their voters\u201d. \u201cClearly, we are straying further from the core voting principles that helped create the diverse body that people see representing them today,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must restore the Voting Rights Act and ban gerrymandering. Our democracy is on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Representative Troy Carter, whose predominately black congressional district encompasses New Orleans, said \u201cthe consequences of the high court\u2019s decision will be \u201cimmediate and severe\u201d and that Louisiana\u2019s two majority-black congressional districts are now at risk of being dismantled. \u201cWithout the protections of the Voting Rights Act, there is no evidence to suggest that Black voters in our state will be able to elect candidates of their choice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
New Orleans mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who represents the largest city in Louisiana\u2019s other predominantly black congressional district, said the supreme court\u2019s ruling was \u201ca step backward\u201d. \u201cStriking down a district that reflected diversity suppresses voices and weakens our democracy. We should be working to expand representation, not roll it back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lauren Groh-Wargo, executive director of Fair Fight Action, said the supreme court\u2019s decision \u201cguts\u201d voting rights protection while \u201cpretending to uphold it\u201d. \u201cIt allows states, counties and cities to shield their discriminatory maps by claiming they are advancing their own partisan interests, ignoring that race and party are highly correlated in places across the country, particularly the south,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For more reaction to this landmark decision, please read my colleague Fabiola Cineas\u2019s piece here:<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.19 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Trump administration’s legal attacks are ‘battering’ the Fed, Powell says<\/p>\n Asked about his decision to stay on as a Fed governor, Powell said his concern was about \u201cthe series of legal attacks on the Fed, which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors\u201d.<\/p>\n He said he doesn\u2019t mind verbal criticism by elected officials, but said the administration\u2019s legal attacks on him \u201care unprecedented in our 113-year history, and there are ongoing threats of additional such actions\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markI worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Powell also congratulated Kevin Warsh on his advancement towards being confirmed<\/a> as his successor as Federal Reserve chair by the Senate.<\/p>\n Powell described the Senate vote as \u201can important step\u201d, adding: \u201cI wish him well as that process continues.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n More now from outgoing Fed chair Jerome Powell, who said that while he US economy is expanding, \u201cinflation has moved up with growing global energy prices\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cDevelopments in the Middle East are contributing to high levels of uncertainty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Consumer sentiment was \u201cresilient\u201d though, he added, and \u201ceconomic activity has been expanding at a solid pace\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Obama says supreme court ruling frees states to ‘systematically weaken voting power of racial minorities’<\/p>\n Former president Barack Obama has issued this statement in reaction to the supreme court\u2019s landmark decision<\/a> today to \u201ceffectively gut a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act\u201d.<\/p>\n He said the ruling frees \u201cstate legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities – so long as they do it under the guise of \u2018partisanship\u2019 rather than explicit \u2018racial bias\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markAnd it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach.<\/p>\n The good news is that such setbacks can be overcome. But that will only happen if citizens across the country who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers – not just in the upcoming midterms or in high profile races, but in every election and every level.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> I asked Sophia Lin Lakin, the ACLU\u2019s top voting rights lawyer, and Janai Nelson, the NAACP LDF lawyer who argued in defense of Louisiana\u2019s map at the supreme court, whether or not there was any pathway for continuing to bring Section 2 claims in federal court after today\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cTheoretically, yes, there are still some possibilities there … academically speaking there are some pathways there,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cBut I think that those require conditions that I don\u2019t see present based on current demographics, voting patterns and what has become an increasingly hyper polarized partisan landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n Lakin added that non-partisan elections are one area where plaintiffs might have some additional remaining leeway to bring Section 2 claims.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Powell to stay on as Fed governor after term as chair ends<\/p>\n Outgoing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said he will stay on as a central bank governor when his leadership term ends in just over two weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter my term as chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period of time to be determined,\u201d Powell said, adding that he planned to \u201ckeep a low profile\u201d as a governor.<\/p>\n Jerome Powell speaks during what could be his final press conference as chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters<\/p>\n Powell noted US attorney Jeanine Pirro\u2019s announcement<\/a> on Friday, ending the criminal investigation against him but also cautioning that she could reopen it.<\/p>\n The move cleared a hurdle for Trump\u2019s pick Kevin Warsh to be confirmed, as GOP senator Thom Tillis had said he wouldn\u2019t vote to confirm him until the probe into Powell was dropped. The Fed\u2019s inspector general has instead been asked to look into potential \u201cbuilding cost overruns\u201d in the central bank\u2019s renovation of its Washington DC headquarters, Pirro said.<\/p>\n He said he would not be leaving the Fed\u2019s board of governors until the DOJ\u2019s investigation into him is \u201cwell and truly over\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019ve said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality, and I stand by that.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI\u2019m encouraged by recent developments, and I\u2019m watching the remaining steps in this process carefully. My decisions on these matters will continue to be guided entirely by what I believe is in the best interest of the institution and the people we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.30 EDT<\/p>\n Trump was then asked a follow-up question about the ruling. The president asked again when the ruling came out (this morning!), before asking the reporter if it was a win for Republicans. Told that it was, he said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI love it! I want to read it. Wow!<\/p>\n He was asked if he believed more Republican governors should pursue redrawing their congressional maps following the ruling, given that early voting in some places begins on Saturday.<\/p>\n Trump said it would depend on the state and whether they have time to do it, but generally they should do it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.53 EDT<\/p>\n Trump says ‘that\u2019s the kind of ruling I like’ when asked about supreme court decision<\/p>\n Donald Trump was also asked for his reaction to today\u2019s supreme court ruling on the Voting Rights Act<\/a> \u2013 to which the president said he didn\u2019t know about it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to tell me, when did the ruling come out?\u201d he asked the reporter, adding he\u2019s been meeting with the astronauts and with contractors trying to get his ballroom built.<\/p>\n When he was told that the ruling might help Republicans gain more congressional seats in the south, the president responded:<\/p>\n double quotation markThat\u2019s good, that\u2019s the kind of ruling I like.<\/p>\n He then asked when this happened, and was told this morning.<\/p>\n Donald Trump takes questions from the media during an event with the Artemis II astronauts in the Oval Office. Photograph: Andrew Harnik\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.49 EDT<\/p>\n Just before we get to that, Donald Trump has been taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office following his meeting with the Artemis II astronauts.<\/p>\n The president said he had a \u201cvery good conversation\u201d with Vladimir Putin today about Ukraine and Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019d like to see a solution, and that\u2019s good,\u201d he said, though it wasn\u2019t clear if he was talking about Ukraine or Iran, or both (unlikely).<\/p>\n Trump then said that he \u201csuggested a little bit of a ceasefire\u201d to Putin \u201cand I think he might do that\u201d. He then asked the reporter if Putin had announced it yet (spoiler: he hasn\u2019t).<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Sam_Levine_Next_Gen.png\")
Sam Levine<\/p>\n