[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 29, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           U.S. SUPREME COURT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, earlier this morning, the conservative 
majority on the Supreme Court took another step toward resurrecting the 
Jim Crow South.
  In a decision that for all practical purposes upends half a century 
of precedent, defies the spirit of the American Civil Rights Movement, 
and reverses generations of progress toward racial justice, the 
rightwing Court today essentially declared it valid and appropriate for 
States to discriminate against racial minorities in drawing districts.
  The Voting Rights Act--a law written in the blood, sweat, tears, and 
sacrifice of Americans who marched, who fought, and died for the right 
to vote and to prevent racial discrimination--has been diminished once 
again.
  The consequence of this decision is as clear as it is dangerous: 
fewer protections for voters, more power for politicians to draw maps 
that silence them--particularly historically disenfranchised voters.
  The conservative Court has tried to make it seem like its decision 
today was narrow and tailored. But let's be very clear. In the words of 
Justice Kagan, this decision is a ``demolition''--a ``demolition''--of 
section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It opens the floodgates for States 
across the South to redraw their congressional districts and make 
voters of color essentially invisible in our democracy. By some 
estimates, this decision could lead conservative State legislatures to 
draw as many as 19 additional seats that favor Republicans in the 
House.
  So, far from being a narrow decision, this MAGA Court is trying to 
give Republicans a leg up--an illegitimate leg up--in future elections.
  Let me say it again: This case is the MAGA Court trying to give 
Republicans a leg up in future elections.
  It is a knife to the heart of some of the most important civil rights 
legislation that past generations marched for, organized for, and bled 
for. It will bring back the old, sinister practices long discarded to 
the dustbin of history: State legislatures diluting, erasing, and 
overpowering voters of color.
  Shame on the High Court. Shame on the MAGA Justices for rigging our 
elections.
  This did not happen all at once. For years, this Court--beginning 
with the Roberts decision in the awful Shelby County decision--has 
chipped away at the Voting Rights Act, decision by decision. Chief 
Justice Roberts bears a lot of the blame for this awful decision.
  The commitment of equal representation has been broken before, but 
every time, Americans have forced it back into the law. Senate 
Democrats will fight it, once again, to reverse this awful, awful 
decision.
  Even before this wretched decision, we knew the MAGA far right was 
hell-bent in trying to undermine our democracy.

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