Mike Johnson dismisses GOP gerrymandering concerns over SCOTUS’ voting rights ruling
Speaker Johnson on Democrats Accusing Republicans of "Jim Crow 2.0"
— A New Wave Right (@ANewWaveRight) May 17, 2026
Johnson: "They stated the obvious. Drawing congressional lines must be FAIR. YOU CANNOT DRAW LINES ON THE BASIS OF RACE and that's what was done in Louisiana."
"This brings back fairness and certainty to the… pic.twitter.com/611lgpNBt2
WASHINGTON, DC: House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the Supreme Court’s high-stakes ruling on Louisiana’s congressional districts as a step toward “fairness,” brushing aside growing concerns from Black voters and critics who warn the move could fuel disproportionate representation and Republican gerrymandering.
In a 6-3 decision, the SCOTUS' conservative majority ruled in April that Louisiana's 2024 congressional map, which created a second majority-Black district, violated the 14th Amendment and was "an unconstitutional racial gerrymander."
The court also limited how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a provision passed in 1965 that broadly outlawed discrimination in voting based on race, can be applied in redistricting cases.
Following the ruling, Louisiana lawmakers, for the 2026 election, unveiled a new congressional map that will eliminate one of the state's majority Black, Democratic-leaning districts while keeping one Democratic-leaning district.
The district map now favors Republicans in five districts and Democrats in one.
Mike Johnson dismisses Black voters’ concerns
After handing down Louisiana v Callais, the SCOTUS also allowed Alabama to redraw its congressional map after it had been prohibited by a court order from redrawing its map until 2030.
Now, Florida’s Republican-led legislature has also approved a new congressional map, which Gov Ron DeSantis later signed into law.
The sweeping changes have fueled growing fears among Black voters across the South, who worry the new maps could weaken their political influence and undermine equal representation in Congress.
On Sunday, May 17, Johnson sat down for an interview with Fox News’ Shannon Bream, where he asked what his message was to Black Americans after the SCOTUS delivered a severe blow to the Voting Rights Act.
“The Supreme Court issued a long-awaited opinion, and they stated the obvious: that drawing congressional lines must be fair, you cannot draw lines based on race,” Johnson told Bream.
“That’s what was done in Louisiana, so they declared it to be an unconstitutional gerrymander, and it was! This brings back fairness and certainty to the system, and I think a lot of states are looking to make sure that their maps are not unconstitutional like Louisiana's was,” he continued.
Mike Johnson backs congressional map redraw
Johnson and President Donald Trump have urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts in ways that could strengthen the GOP’s position ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and help protect the party’s razor-thin House majority.
The Republican House speaker welcomed the SCOTUS’ ruling in April enthusiastically, saying, "The Supreme Court made it clear that these rogue, politically-motivated judges have exceeded their authority, and this overtly political practice must end."
Trump also celebrated the ruling, calling it a "BIG WIN for Equal Protection."
"It (the decision) returns the Voting Rights Act to its Original Intent, which was to protect against intentional Racial Discrimination. Thank you to brilliant Justice Samuel Alito for authoring this important and appropriate Opinion," the Republican leader wrote on Truth Social.
