‘A devastating blow’: major civil rights group calls supreme court ruling on voting case ‘a major setback for our nation’ – live
NAACP decries 6-3 decision that ruled Louisiana must redraw its congressional map, a landmark case that guts major section of Voting Rights Act
Meanwhile, Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation’s oldest civil rights group, said the high court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais delivers “a devastating blow to what remains of the Voting Rights Act”.
The ruling is “a license for corrupt politicians who want to rig the system by silencing entire communities,” Johnson said in a statement today.
He went on:
The Supreme Court betrayed Black voters, they betrayed America, and they betrayed our democracy.
This ruling is a major setback for our nation and threatens to erode the hard-won victories we’ve fought, bled, and died for. But the people still can fight back. Our democracy is crying for help.
James Comey surrenders amid justice department charges over social media post
Former FBI director James Comey on Wednesday surrendered to law enforcement at federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to CNN, citing a source familiar.
His hearing was set to begin at 1pm EST. Trump’s justice department filed has charged Comey with making threats against the president, stemming from a picture he posted on Instagram while on vacation last year in which sea shells were arranged to say “86 47”.
Comey said in a video message on Substack on Tuesday that he is “still innocent”.
Michael Sainato
Earlier today, Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, cleared a key procedural hurdle on Wednesday, opening the way for him to succeed Jerome Powell next month amid the White House’s unprecedented efforts to exert control over the world’s most powerful central bank.
Warsh’s nomination was approved in a 13 to 11 vote, strictly along party lines with Republicans supporting the nomination, setting up a confirmation vote in the US Senate in the coming days.
All 13 Republicans on the panel voted in support of Warsh after Thom Tillis, a North Carolina senator, dropped his opposition following the Department of Justice’s decision on Friday to end a criminal investigation into Powell that Tillis viewed as a threat to the Fed’s political independence.
The panel’s 11 Democrats, who say they doubt Warsh’s promise to set policy without regard to the president’s wishes, voted against him.
In a statement before the vote, Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator and ranking member of the Senate’s banking committee, repeated her concern that Warsh will be a “sock puppet” for Trump.
Republican lawmakers are celebrating the ruling. Here’s a few reactions:
“Great news,” Utah senator Mike Lee said on X. “Race-based gerrymanders have no place in our country.”
“Huge,” senator John Cornyn of Texas cheered.
'A democracy diminished': Pelosi urges Congress to act after supreme court voting decision
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the supreme court’s ruling in Louisiana v Callais a “new blow” against the “sacred right to vote”.
“The consequences will be felt across the country: fewer voices heard, fewer communities represented and a democracy diminished,” Pelosi said.
She urged Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights act, which would modernize the Voting Rights Act of 1965 but has been repeatedly blocked by Republicans.
“Congress must urgently pass the John R Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the full strength of the Voting Rights Act before this latest blow becomes fatal,” Pelosi.
The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said the “Supreme Court just turned its back on one of the most sacred promises in American democracy—the promise that every voice counts”.
Democratic senator Chris Coons said the supreme court’s ruling in Louisiana v Callais“has told the nation that some voices and votes are worth less than others”.
He wrote in a thread on X:
Generations of Americans marched, served, protested, and died for the promise of our democracy. Today, the Supreme Court continues its steady march to forget that sacrifice and undo that promise.
By restricting Americans’ ability to choose candidates that represent their communities, the Supreme Court has told the nation that some voices and votes are worth less than others.
The Voting Rights Act was a declaration that our democracy belongs to all of us. I still believe in the promise of our democracy, and I will keep fighting to make it real and to make sure your voice and vote matter.
Hegseth attacks Democrat for calling war on Iran 'a quagmire'
Pete Hegseth further defended the Iran war in fiery remarks to Congress, insisting that the unpopular conflict is not a quagmire.
“You call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement,” Hegseth told Democrat John Garamendi, claiming that that language “undermines the mission”.
Garamendi had said Trump’s war strategy was one of “astounding incompetence”, describing it as a “serious self-inflicted wound to America” and highlighting the thousands of civilians and 13 US service members killed.
The blocking of the strait of Hormuz was “foreseeable”, he added, telling the defense secretary:
You have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president.
He noted that the Iranian regime is intact, along with Iran’s missile and drone systems, and that the war has strengthened Iran’s coordination with China, Russia and North Korea. Trump is “stuck in a quagmire” of another war in the Middle East, Garamendi said.
Hegseth lambasted Garamendi’s statement as “reckless”. “Your hatred for President Trump blinds you,” he said.
Back at Pete Hegseth’s hearing at the House armed services committee earlier, the defense secretary got into a heated exchange with ranking member Adam Smith when he was asked how the government plans to end the nuclear threat from Iran.
“It is worth noting that every president prior to this one, including President Trump in his first term, also prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon without actually having to go to war in Iran,” Smith said.
He then asked Hegseth why the United States attacked Iran in February if the operation last summer had successfully “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, as Donald Trumpclaimed, and questioned if there was an imminent threat that made the war necessary.
When Hegseth repeated that claim that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “obliterated” underground, Smith chimed in: “You just said 60 days ago … the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated.”
Hegseth said Iran’s nuclear ambitions had not been eliminated but argued that its nuclear program had been.
US senator for Georgia Reverend Raphael Warnock said the decision “further ravaged” the Voting Rights Act and left the country “at a crossroads where politicians are picking their voters”.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision marks a profound defeat for American democracy and will pave the way for partisan politicians to pick their voters,” the Democrat said in a statement.
“Clearly, we are straying further from the core voting principles that helped create the diverse body that people see representing them today. We must restore the Voting Rights Act and ban gerrymandering. Our democracy is on the line.”
US representative Troy Carter, whose predominately black congressional district encompasses New Orleans, said in a statement:
This ruling is about far more than lines on a map — it’s about whether Black Louisianians will have a meaningful opportunity to make their voices heard.
Carter said the consequences of the high court’s decision will be “immediate and severe” and that Louisiana’s two majority-black congressional districts are now at risk of being dismantled.
Without 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.
This decision will embolden efforts to dismantle majority-Black districts and fracture communities that have finally begun to see themselves reflected in their government. This isn’t just about federal representation. This decision will also impact state and local governments, impacting Black representation in state capitols and city council chambers across the country. It sends a dangerous signal that the progress we have made can be undone under the guise of legal theory.
The mayor of New Orleans, Helena Moreno, a Democrat who represents the largest city in Louisiana’s other predominantly black congressional district, said the supreme court’s ruling was “a step backward”.
For decades, the Voting Rights Act has served as a critical safeguard to ensure every voice, especially those historically marginalized, has a meaningful opportunity to be heard.
Striking down a district that reflected diversity suppresses voices and weakens our democracy. We should be working to expand representation, not roll it back.
Lauren Groh-Wargo, executive director of Fair Fight Action, a Georgia-based voting rights group founded by Democrat and former US representative Stacey Abrams, said the supreme court’s decision “guts” voting rights protection while “pretending to uphold it”.
She said the court rewrote the law to require a showing of intentional discrimination. That’s after Congress in the early 1980s specifically rewrote the Voting Rights Act to overturn an earlier supreme court decision in an Alabama case that tried to do the same thing.
At the time, Chief Justice John Roberts was a justice department attorney advocating for a showing of intentional discrimination.
She said:
It 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.
Indeed, the ruling could open the door for Republican-led states to eliminate Black and Latino electoral districts that tend to favor Democrats and affect the balance of power in Congress. Donald Trump has already sparked a nationwide redistricting battle to boost the GOP’s chances.
'A devastating blow': NAACP says supreme court ruling is 'a major setback for our nation'
Meanwhile, Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation’s oldest civil rights group, said the high court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais delivers “a devastating blow to what remains of the Voting Rights Act”.
The ruling is “a license for corrupt politicians who want to rig the system by silencing entire communities,” Johnson said in a statement today.
He went on:
The Supreme Court betrayed Black voters, they betrayed America, and they betrayed our democracy.
This ruling is a major setback for our nation and threatens to erode the hard-won victories we’ve fought, bled, and died for. But the people still can fight back. Our democracy is crying for help."
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