Former President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais on Wednesday, saying the ruling weakens a central part of the Voting Rights Act by allowing states to dilute minority voting power through maps defended as partisan gerrymanders.
Obama Says Ruling Weakens Minority Voting Power
Obama said that Wednesday’s decision “effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act” and gives state legislatures room to weaken the voting power of racial minorities if they frame their actions as “partisanship” rather than explicit racial bias. He said the ruling showed the court’s majority was retreating from its role in protecting equal participation in democracy.
The 6-3 ruling struck down Louisiana’s map, creating a second majority-Black congressional district. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the conservative majority that the map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander because race predominated over traditional districting criteria, violating constitutional equal protection principles.
Democrats Push Congress To Restore Protections
Obama called the decision a setback but urged voters to respond through civic action, saying such defeats can be overcome if citizens mobilize and vote “in every election and every level.” Democrats also called for Congress to restore voting rights protections after the ruling.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), in a public statement, called the ruling an “awful decision” and said Senate Democrats “will fight it once again to reverse this awful decision.” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said the ruling “underscores the urgent need for Congress to protect and expand voting rights.”
Trump And Republicans Praise High Court
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, praised the decision, writing on Truth Social that the 6-3 ruling was a “BIG WIN for Equal Protection under the Law.” He said it returned the Voting Rights Act to its “Original Intent,” which he described as protection against intentional racial discrimination, and thanked Alito for the opinion.
Republicans broadly welcomed the ruling. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the court affirmed that drawing districts for political reasons is a state prerogative, “not a federal civil-rights violation.”
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