Category Archives: Politics

Newswire : Sierra Club, HBCUs Outside train next generation of Black Outdoor Leaders

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Students participate in an outings training led by by Sierra Club and HBCUs Outside in Atlanta in 2025. Photo credit: Gerry James

By Shawn White, HBCU News

This fall marked the inaugural partnership between Sierra Club and HBCUs Outside, training 19 college students to become Sierra Club Chapter Outings leaders. With more than 5,000 chapter outings leaders nationwide, the partnership brings a new group of young Black leaders into the Sierra Club’s national network connecting thousands of people across the country to the outdoors.
HBCUs Outside is a nonprofit providing students and faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities with the resources needed to build sustainable outdoor communities, lead outings, and engage with the outdoor industry.
During the trainings, students completed the Sierra Club Chapter Outings Leader Course, which covered ethical leadership, risk management, best practices in outings planning, and strategies for building community led conservation and outdoor access movements. In partnership with Sierra Club Chapters, sessions took place in Georgia, Washington D.C., and North Carolina and drew students from Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Clark Atlanta University, Howard University, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
“The partnership between HBCUs and the Sierra Club centers on creating inclusive outdoor experiences for students. This year’s North Carolina training with A&T University students showcased shared curiosity, skill, and honest dialogue. Students brought outdoor expertise, asked deep questions, and remained engaged. Together, we addressed issues of safety, belonging, and comfort for Brown and Black people in outdoor spaces, especially when navigating a predominantly white outdoor industry and today’s political climate,” said Lornett Vestal, Senior Campaign Strategist with the Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors program. 
“The forming of this partnership between the Sierra Club and HBCUs Outside has been one of the most fulfilling experiences during my time with the Sierra Club. Student participation in these trainings is just one step of their holistic journey to leading outings for their communities. I am honored to be part of it and look forward to being a network of support as they refine their practice and create meaningful experiences for their participants.” Marissa Llanes,  Chapter Outings Team Director

Newswire : Alabama students, professors appeal ruling in lawsuit challenging anti-DEI law

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Flowers on campus

By Chance Phillips, Alabama Political Reporters

On Monday, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union filed an appeal in a lawsuit challenging the anti DEI law SB129 on behalf of college students and instructors at Alabama’s public universities.
In a press release, ACLU of Alabama Legal Director Alison Mollman called the appeal a “necessary next step to ensuring that the constitutional rights of all professors and students are protected in Alabama.”
Filed last January, the lawsuit alleges that SB129 is an unconstitutional infringement on Alabamians’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
“SB 129 unconstitutionally abridges the First Amendment right of the students to receive information and the right of the professors to disseminate ideas without undue imposition of governmental viewpoints,” the original complaint asserts. “SB 129 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it was enacted with intent to discriminate against Black professors and students, and those who ally with them.”
APR reported earlier this year that documents submitted as evidence in the lawsuit showed professors concerned that their classes would be effectively banned by SB129 and describing a general “pall of distrust, anxiety, and fear.”
“As a senior, I have watched our campus change overnight, as students are afraid to speak, opportunities for thoughtful engagement have disappeared, and students’ shared sense of belonging has eroded,” Sydney Testman, a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, stated. “With this appeal, we hope the courts will recognize the real and lasting damage that SB 129 has caused to me, my classmates, and my professors.”
Before SB129 was enacted, Testman was the finance coordinator for UAB’s Social Justice Advocacy Council, which had received funding from the university that was terminated after UAB and other public universities closed their offices meant to encourage and help students who are members of minority groups.

Signed by Governor Kay Ivey during the 2024 legislative session, SB129 formally prohibits state agencies and public universities from sponsoring diversity, equity and inclusion programs or requiring individuals to “personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to a divisive concept.”
In August, a federal district court judge denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against SB129’s enforcement. He wrote that the University of Alabama Board of Trustees “clearly has an interest in regulating the type of classroom indoctrination forbidden by SB 129” and referred to the current Trump administration’s stance on “preferential treatment based on race.”
Requesting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit approve a preliminary injunction, the appeal filed earlier this week charges that the district court judge “committed an abuse of discretion” by ruling that the students and the Alabama NAACP lacked standing, which contributed to the denial of the request for an injunction.
It also challenges claims that SB129 is not unconstitutionally vague and that professors’ speech affected by SB129 is not protected by the First Amendment.
“The law continues to censor classrooms, restrict student expression, and disproportionately harm Black and LGBTQ+ students,” Legal Defense Fund Senior Counsel Antonio Ingram wrote. “We will continue to challenge SB 129 because every student in Alabama deserves an accurate, high-quality education free from discrimination, fear, or undue interference from politicians.”

Newswire : House Republicans leaders ditch vote on ACA funding cuts, all but ensuring healthcare premiums will rise

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By Sahil Kapur, Julie Tsirkin and Brennan Leach, HBCU News

WASHINGTON — It’s official: House Speaker Mike Johnson says he won’t call a vote to extend enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, effectively guaranteeing they will expire at the end of this month.
That means higher insurance premiums will go into effect for millions of Americans who get coverage through Obamacare next year.
The speaker made the announcement Tuesday after a closed-door Republican caucus meeting, saying that leadership failed to reach a deal with centrist members to bring up an ACA amendment on a health care bill set for a vote on Wednesday.
“There’s about a dozen members in the conference that are in these swing districts who are fighting hard to make sure they reduce costs for all of their constituents. And many of them did want to vote on this Obamacare Covid-era subsidy that Democrats created,” Johnson, R-La., told reporters. “We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be. We worked on it all the way through the weekend, in fact. And in the end there was not an agreement — it wasn’t made.”
As Johnson’s office rolled out the bill Friday, GOP leadership aides said they were working with lawmakers on a path forward for a vote on an amendment to keep the ACA funds flowing.
“I certainly appreciate the views and the opinions of every member of this conference,” Johnson said. “But I will tell you: One thing they will all join in unity on is voting for this bill that we’ve been discussing this morning.”
The centrist Republicans who have been pushing for an ACA funding extension include Reps. Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mike Lawler of New York — all of whom represent competitive districts that could make or break the Republican majority in the 2026 midterms.
“I am pissed for the American people. This is absolute bulls—, and it’s absurd,” Lawler said Tuesday. “Everybody has a responsibility to serve their district, to serve their constituents. You know what’s funny? Three-quarters of people on Obamacare are in states Donald Trump won. So maybe, just maybe, everybody should look at this and say, ‘How do we actually fix the health care system?’”
He faulted the leaders of both parties on the issue.
“You have two leaders that are not serious about solving this problem,” Lawler said, adding that it would be “idiotic” to not hold a vote on the expiring subsidies.
Asked about Lawler’s criticism, Johnson called him “a very dear friend and a close colleague of mine.”
But, he said, other Republicans come from different districts with “different priorities and ideas.” Many Republicans want the funds to expire on schedule.
Another reason the talks broke down is that leaders told the centrist Republicans that they would need to find spending cuts to pay for an ACA funding extension, which is projected to cost about $35 billion per year. That’s a tall order, and one that went over poorly among those GOP members, particularly as party leaders are regularly willing to waive “pay-for” rules on policies they favor.
Some Republicans who want to extend the subsidies have not ruled out signing onto a “discharge petition” by Democrats to end-run Johnson and force a vote on a clean three-year extension of ACA subsidies.
“All options are on the table,” Lawler said.
Asked if he’s open to signing the Democrats’ discharge petition, Fitzpatrick said, “We’ll talk about that after today.”
The GOP divisions are likely to empower House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is insisting on a clean three-year extension with the support of all Democrats. Some Democrats have backed a shorter-term extension with some reforms to win GOP votes, but Jeffries is holding firm.
“There are 214 Democrats who have signed a discharge petition that would force an up-or-down vote on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits — to make sure that tens of millions of Americans don’t experience increased health insurance premiums that will prevent them from being able to go see a doctor when they need one,” Jeffries said Monday. “All we need are four House Republicans to join us.”
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who represents a solidly red district, said members like Lawler should remember that other Republicans also have bills they won’t put to a vote.
“You can’t have everything every time,” Burchett said. “Even though he’s in a district that Kamala Harris won, we can’t just give all the committees and all the bills to the more liberal members of the party.”
Even if a discharge petition secured the votes to pass, which is far from certain, it would take time to reach the House floor. That effectively guarantees it’ll be pushed into next year, with Republicans hoping to adjourn after this week.
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who was just re-elected to serve as House Freedom Caucus chairman for another year, said he isn’t worried about his colleagues signing a discharge petition or even passing a bill to extend ACA funds through the House.
“It’s their right as a member to sign a discharge petition. I’m not afraid of a vote on a discharge petition. These will pass in the House, and then they’ll be killed over in the Senate,” Harris said. “The Senate’s already taken a position on extending the Affordable Care Act to enhance subsidies, and they rejected it.”
Harris added that “it’s possible that we put a package together in January or February” dealing with health care, but he said it must be broader than just addressing ACA enrollees in order to secure his vote.
Asked if he’s worried that moderate Republicans may sign onto Democrats’ discharge petition, Johnson told NBC News, “I don’t worry about anything.”

Newswire : A nation in free fall while the powerful feast:Trump calls affordability a ‘Con Job’

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

 

There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything. It enters the grocery aisle, the overdue bill, the rent notice, and the long nights spent calculating how to get through the next week. The latest numbers show that this season has not passed. It has deepened.
Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in November, according to ADP. Because the nation has been hemorrhaging jobs since President Trump took office, the administration has halted publishing the traditional monthly report. The ADP report revealed that small businesses suffered the heaviest losses. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers shed 120,000 positions, including 74,000 from companies with 20 to 49 workers. Larger firms added 90,000 jobs, widening the split between those rising and those falling.

Meanwhile, wealth continues to climb for the few who already possess most of it. Federal Reserve data shows the top 1 percent now holds $52 trillion. The top 10 percent added $5 trillion in the second quarter alone. The bottom half gained only 6 percent over the past year, a number so small it fades beside the towering fortunes above it.
“Less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes,” John Campbell said to CBS News, while noting that the complexity of the system leaves many families lost before they even begin. Campbell, a Harvard University economist and coauthor of a book examining the country’s broken personal finance structure, pointed to a system built to confuse and punish those who lack time, training, or access.
“Creditors are just breathing down their necks,” Carol Fox told Bloomberg News, while noting that rising borrowing costs, shrinking consumer spending, and trade battles under the current administration have left owners desperate. Fox serves as a court-appointed Subchapter V trustee in Southern Florida and has watched the crisis unfold case by case.
During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump told those present that affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.” He added that Democrats created a “con job” to mislead the public.
However, more than $30 million in taxpayer funds reportedly have supported his golf travel. Reports show Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel have also made extensive use of private jets through government and political networks. The administration approved a $40 billion bailout of Argentina. The president’s wealthy donors recently gathered for a dinner celebrating his planned $300 million White House ballroom.
During an appearance on CNBC, Mark Zandi, an economist, warned that the country could face serious economic threats. “We have learned that people make many mistakes,” Campbell added. “And particularly, sadly, less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes.”

GCCPC holds annual Read Greene Read community readings

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The Greene County Children’s Policy Council held its annual “Read Greene Read” event on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at the Eutaw Activity Center. The event highlights the Policy Council’s tradition of reaching out to the community while supporting the SPOT After School Tutorial Program. Since its inception in 2022, Greene County CPC Chairman, Judge Lillie Jones-Osborne has sought creative ways to magnify the urgent need of reading for children and adults in Greene County.

Beautiful Christmas decorations adorned the center beginning in the foyer and throughout the building. SPOT students and community participants read their favorite Christmas stories. A delicious meal was served, toys were distributed, and family photos were taken with Santa. All families in Greene County are encouraged to continue to make reading a priority in their homes daily.

School Board presented four finalists for superintendent’s position

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Shown above Dr. Jessica Constant, Mr. Demond Mullins,  Ms. Taurus Brown and Dr. Timothy Thurman

At its December 15, 2025 regular meeting, the Greene County Board of Education received four applicant finalists for the position of Superintendent. Ms. Susan Salter, special consultant with the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB), led the superintendent search for Greene County School System. She presented the following finalist detailing their experiences and education: Dr. Jessica Constant, currently Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, Phenix City Schools; Mr. Demond Mullins currently Director of Curriculum and Federal Programs, Lowndes County Schools; Ms. Taurus Brown Smith currently Education Administrator Alabama Department of Education, Office of School Improvement; Dr. Timothy Thurman currently Superintendent Linden City Schools.

Ms. Salter noted that applications were received from 39 candidates with 28 completions. Applications were received from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Illinois, Arizona and Missouri. AASB reviewed all applicants and a committee determined the top candidates. AASB vetted all candidates. Salter narrated to the board the credentials and work experiences of each finalist, in alphabetical order. through a public Power Point presentation. The board has scheduled interviews with each finalist for Thursday, December 18, beginning at 10: am in the Central Office. The interviews are open to the public, but only board members may participate in the interviews. Dr. Jessica Constant’s experiences include Coordinator of Student Services, Tuscaloosa City Schools; Experiences in Hale County Schools – Principal, Greensboro High School; Principal Akron Community School; Assistant Principal, Greensboro Middle School; Teacher, Greensboro East Elementary. Education – Doctorate in Education Management; Education Specialist; Master’s Education Administration and Supervision; Master’s Education Leadership; Bachelor’s Elementary Education.

Mr. Demond Mullins’ experiences include Director of Curriculum and Federal Programs, Lowndes County Schools; Principal Johnson Elementary, Jeff Davis High School, Montgomery County Schools; Principal Hazelwood Elementary, Lawrence County Schools; Assistant Principal Bob Jones High School, Madison City Schools; Assistant Principal, Forest Avenue Magnet Elementary, Montgomery County Schools; Teacher, Seth Johnson Elementary, Montgomery County Schools; Teacher, Westwood Elementary, Tuscaloosa County schools.
Education – Education Specialist, Master’s Education Leadership; Bachelor’s Elementary Education; currently Ph.D candidate.

Ms. Taurus Brown Smith’s experiences include Principal Payne Elementary, Selma City Schools; Teacher, Selma City Schools. Education – National Board Certification, Early Childhood Generalist; Master’s Elementary Education; Master’s Education Administration; Bachelor’s Elementary Education.
Dr. Timothy Thurman’s experiences include Assistant Superintendent Linden City Schools; Principal Linden High School; Teacher and Coach Perry County Schools; Director Perry County Alternative School. Education: Doctorate Educational Leadership; Master’s Education Administration; Bachelor’s Elementary Education.

Newswire : Haiti’s transitional government adopts key law to hold a general election for first time since 2016

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Haiti’s transitional presidential council has backed an electoral law in the latest step toward holding a general election for the first time in nearly a decade.
The approval late Monday means that the government can finally publish an official and long-awaited electoral calendar, after fears that the council would try to push back the tentative dates to stay in power longer.
Council President Laurent Saint-Cyr called the move a “major decision” for Haiti.
“We must finally offer the Haitian people the opportunity to freely and responsibly choose those who will lead them,” he wrote on X. “By taking this decisive step, while remaining fully committed to restoring security, we reaffirm our dedication to putting Haiti back on the path to democratic legitimacy and stability.”
The adoption of the electoral law came as some council members have pushed for the ouster of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, including Fritz Alphonse Jean, who was recently sanctioned by the U.S. government.
Some believe that U.S. visa restrictions, like the one imposed on Jean, are being used as a threat to try and influence Haiti’s politics.
Three of seven council members with voting powers weren’t present for Monday’s meeting, where the electoral law was approved, including Jean, according to Le Nouvelliste newspaper.
Council member Frinel Joseph, who voted in favor of the law, said that it marked “a decisive turning point” in the transition of power and that it provided Haiti “with the necessary legal and political framework for holding elections.”
Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council has said it plans to hold the first round of voting in August and the final round in December next year, although ongoing gang violence could push back those dates.
Meanwhile, the transitional presidential council is supposed to step down by Feb. 7 to give way to democratic rule.
Haiti last held a general election in 2016 and hasn’t had a president since Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021.
The transitional presidential council was appointed after the killing, and the prime ministers that have served since the killing have been nominated by the council.

 

Newswie : With seats of Congressional Black Caucus members under attack, Trump again targets Rep. Ilhan Omar

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 Rep. Ilhan Omar (D. MN)

By Lauren Burke, NNPA Congressional Corespondent

 


On December 4, during a White House cabinet meeting, President Trump launched into a hateful, racist rant against Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
“Those Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her – she’s always talking about ‘the constitution provides me with uhhhh,’” Trump ranted, speaking of Congresswoman Omar.
Trump has targeted Rep. Omar and other members of Congress’s “Squad” before and during his first term in office. Those attacks by Trump included Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Many political observers wonder if Trump’s latest rant was a strategy to deflect from bad economic news. Either way, Trump’s latest racist tirade isn’t new.
Rep. Omar’s family fled Somalia during a war and then earned asylum in the U.S. in 1995. She became a U.S. citizen at age 17 and has represented Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019.
In 2019, Trump said that the congressional group nicknamed “the squad” should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.” During his 2024 campaign for the White House, Trump made anti-immigration rants a predictable part of his campaign rallies.
The Congressional Black Caucus responded to the latest attacks by Trump and other Republicans in an era of brazen anti-Blackness.
“From the recently leaked texts of Republican officials using the n-word and praising Hitler to President Trump’s comments in the Cabinet Room, it’s beyond clear that the Republican Party’s racism truly knows no bounds,” wrote the Congressional Black Caucus in a press release in defense of Rep. Omar on December 4.
The attacks heighten the tension of national political discourse. The level of political vitriol would appear to have real-world applications. Great Britain’s paper The Independent exclusively reported on Dec. 8, a serious threat to Rep. Omar. The Congresswoman has had to add personal security to her team in recent years.
“A 30-year-old Florida man is facing up to a half-decade in federal prison after confessing to posting violent threats on social media that promised to decapitate Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, murder her ‘monkey children,’ then eat the kids ‘for protein,’ according to plea agreement papers reviewed by The Independent,” the Dec. 8 post by the newspaper relayed. The news arrived days after Trump’s attacks, though the matter appeared to be related to comments the Congresswoman may have made after the murder of Charlie Kirk.
The latest attack on Rep. Omar is only one of a series of pressures on the Congressional Black Caucus. Several members are now facing challenges to their power as several members are facing sudden redistricting changes in states with Republican Governors. These include Missouri, Texas, and Indiana.
In August, Texas Republicans began the back-and-forth onslaught that became the current partisan redistricting fight. California answered the call by passing a ballot initiative that will likely lead to the elimination of several GOP congressional seats. In Virginia, there is open talk by Democrats of altering the congressional delegation in a way that could produce ten Democrats in the Virginia delegation out of eleven.
Several members of the CBC, including Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Al Green (D-TX), Andre Carson (D-IN), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), and Marc Veasey (D-TX) are dealing with the special challenge of chasing district lines for partisan reasons.
Rep. Crockett was drawn out of her own district during the GOP-driven map redraw in Texas. On the evening of December 8, Crockett announced she would be running against Republican Senator John Cornyn for U.S. Senate in 2026.
The race was forced in part by the onslaught of redistricting fights that are likely to get more complicated in the early part of next year.

Newswire :Rural America faces the first cut as ACA support hits a high

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Out across the long stretches of the country—where the roads narrow, the hospitals disappear, and the winters sit heavy—health insurance is not an abstraction. It is a quiet bargain that keeps families from slipping into ruin. That bargain is now on the edge of collapse.
Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, and rural Americans stand to suffer most. These subsidies, introduced during the pandemic and extended through 2025, lowered premiums, expanded coverage, and pushed enrollment to historic highs. Without congressional action, the cost of insurance will rise sharply, and the hardest hit will be communities that already live miles from the nearest clinic, where a single medical bill can decide a family’s direction for a generation.
The math alone tells a story of quiet devastation. Rural counties, according to reporting in the files, saw some of the greatest gains in coverage after the enhanced subsidies took effect. In states that rejected Medicaid expansion, these subsidies became the last remaining thread tying people to affordable care. When that thread snaps, millions will confront premiums that double almost overnight. Families who once paid modest monthly amounts could face bills they simply cannot meet. Hospitals in regions where uncompensated care already threatens survival will be forced closer to closure.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that without an extension of the subsidies through 2026, the number of uninsured Americans will climb by millions in the first years after expiration. Premiums would, on average, rise by more than 100%. For middle-income families, the return of the so-called subsidy cliff will mean costs that outpace budgets already worn thin by inflation and stagnant wages.
Yet the geography of the harm is not evenly drawn. Rural communities lean heavily on marketplace coverage. They have fewer employers offering insurance, fewer doctors, fewer mental health providers, and hospitals that operate on margins so narrow they can be undone by a single year of unpaid care. When subsidies disappear, these communities are the first to fall. Their residents are older, sicker, and poorer. Their choices are fewer. Their safety nets are thinner.
The political battle around them grows louder by the day. Senators Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine have introduced legislation that would extend the subsidies for two years but add new restrictions, including mandatory premiums for all enrollees and an income cap of $200,000 per household. Moreno, in a written statement, accused Democrats of creating a system that favored insurance companies over patients. “I am willing to work with anyone to finally bring down costs for all Americans and hope my colleagues across the aisle will commit to doing the same,” he said.
Collins said the proposal aims to help families avoid sudden, unaffordable premium increases. A statement from her office said Congress must “pursue practical solutions that increase affordability without creating sudden disruptions in coverage.”
But rural America, which lives with the consequences of every delay, every stalemate, and every partisan declaration, does not have the luxury of waiting.
The reporting in the files paints a stark portrait: when insurance becomes too expensive, people delay care, skip treatment, or abandon coverage entirely. High-deductible plans—an alternative promoted by several Republican lawmakers—leave families drowning in out-of-pocket costs. Studies cited in KFF Health News show that patients with these plans often end up buried in medical debt, even when insured, and rural families, with their lower incomes and limited access to providers, are especially vulnerable.
It is in these regions where the distance between lawmaking and lived experience is measured not in political rhetoric but in ambulance rides, in shuttered emergency rooms, in the unpaid bills that arrive like uninvited visitors at the end of each month.
And yet, nationwide approval of the ACA is at its highest level since the law was enacted. Gallup’s latest findings show 57 percent of Americans support the ACA, driven by a sharp rise among independents. The survey, conducted as the shutdown ended and Congress prepared for another vote, suggests that the public understands what is at stake. It also shows how deeply the law has become woven into American life, especially in regions where alternatives do not exist.
But approval alone will not keep rural hospitals open or preserve the coverage gains of the last several years. The national fight now moves toward a deadline that will not wait. When it arrives, rural America will feel it first, and it will feel it hardest.
As one Gallup passage captures, “Approval has been at or above 50 percent in most years since 2017, but the law was less popular before

Newswire : U. S. Supreme Court allows Texas to use racially gerrymandered map for 2026 Midterms 

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Texas legislator holding redistricting map

By Joe Jurado, NewsOne


In news that can be filed under “disappointing, but not surprising,” the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling allowing Texas to use its recently redistricted map in the 2026 midterms. 
According to CBS News, the ruling came after a panel of federal judges struck down the map last month. In the original ruling, the judges found the map unconstitutional, believing it was racially gerrymandered. In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court said it “has repeatedly emphasized that lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election,” and the district court “violated that rule here.” 
“The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,” the order continued.
So the Supreme Court’s logic boils down to “it doesn’t matter if it’s wrong, they already did it, so just accept it.” 
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan pushed back against the ruling in a written dissent. “The court issued a 160-page opinion recounting in detail its factual findings. Yet this Court reverses that judgment based on its perusal, over a holiday weekend, of a cold paper record.” Kagan wrote. “We are a higher court than the District Court, but we are not a better one when it comes to making such a fact-based decision,” she added. 
“We won! Texas is officially—and legally—more red,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement celebrating the ruling. “The new congressional districts better align our representation in Washington D.C. with the values of our state,” Abbott added. “This is a victory for Texas voters, for common sense, and for the U.S. Constitution.”
Texas Democrats were far less celebratory of the ruling, and for good reason. Over the summer, Texas Democrats used every measure at their disposal to block the Texas redistricting effort. They filibustered, fled the state to break quorum, and their efforts even resulted in state Rep. Nicole Collier being held as a political prisoner on the House floor.  
 “The Supreme Court failed Texas voters today, and they failed American democracy. This is what the end of the Voting Rights Act looks like: courts that won’t protect minority communities even when the evidence is staring them in the face,” Texas state House Democratic Leader Rep. Gene Wu said in a statement. 
The Texas map triggered a nationwide redistricting battle. In July, Abbott called a special session focused on redistricting at the request of President Donald Trump. The GOP controls the House by a narrow margin, with Democrats only needing a net gain of three seats to flip control during next year’s midterms. The Texas state legislature eventually passed a map that added five new districts that favor Republicans. 
While the Supreme Court is allowing Texas to utilize its redistricted map, the gains made within it have largely been neutralized by California’s redistricting effort. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was the first Democratic leader to throw a counterpunch when he announced the “Election Rigging Response Act “in August. That move triggered a special election last month focused solely on Prop 50, which transfers control of the state’s congressional maps from an independent redistricting committee to the state legislature through the end of the decade. California voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, and Newsom intends to implement a map that directly cancels out the gains made in Texas. 
Virginia’s Democrat-led General Assembly also announced a surprise redistricting effort last month that aims to create two to three more seats in the House, with Chicago and Maryland also considering redrawing their maps. 
So while the Supreme Court’s ruling undeniably hurts Democratic voters in Texas, the electoral math for flipping control of the House is still reasonably close.