A new U.S. Supreme Court precedent that effectively rules officials cannot create a congressional district by drawing boundary lines based exclusively on the race of the voters living there is going to be enforced nationwide.
That could upset a number of states where such districts have, in fact, been created over the years.
The recent opinion specifically struck down a Louisiana plan that created a second congressional district in the state that held a black “majority.”
Now Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, has confirmed the new neutrality requirement will be enforced across the states.
It was Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who confirmed his request to the Department of Justice to act.
“Today—as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution—I urged @DAGToddBlanche and @AAGDhillon to act on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. DOJ has the power to enforce this decision nationwide and must use it to end illegal racially-gerrymandered districts.
Today—as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution—I urged @DAGToddBlanche and @AAGDhillon to act on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
DOJ has the power to enforce this decision nationwide and must use it to end illegal racially-gerrymandered districts. pic.twitter.com/EYmJJ1BXvn
— Senator Eric Schmitt (@SenEricSchmitt) April 30, 2026
A report at Just the News revealed her response:
“Senator — we are ON IT!” Dhillon said. “The [Justice Department] under [Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche] continues to prioritize equal protection of the laws for ALL Americans, be it in employment, housing, education — and voting.”
The report noted the commitment comes as 45 redistricting disputes remain unresolved in state and federal courts, which means there a huge uncertainty in the fight for control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November.
Analysts have suggested as many as 15 or 20 House districts suddenly could change from being race-based, and solidly Democrat seats, to leaning to the Republican Party.
The Supreme Court’s ruling said Louisiana was unconstitutionally racially gerrymandering when it added a second majority black district. Louisiana redrew the maps in 2024 after a lower court ruled previous maps likely violated the Voting Rights Act because it did not include the second majority black district.
A three-judge district court panel has issued an order affirming that Louisiana may not conduct congressional elections under its now-unconstitutional map.
The state must submit a plan on how to comply with Callais within 3 days of the judgment’s issuance. pic.twitter.com/YXZI2P5hmg
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) April 30, 2026
Louisiana elections now are on hold while new districts are being drawn.
Louisiana will change congressional maps before midterms, governor says
https://t.co/yx3Ogfbvhk— The Hill (@thehill) May 1, 2026
Louisiana will now RE-DRAW their Congressional map, which could eliminate ALL Democrat districts… pic.twitter.com/teHSw6qOCN
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 30, 2026
The high court ruled 6-3 that the district represented by Democrat Cleo Fields relied too heavily on race.
The fight started in 2022 when black voters sued claiming the districts then violated rules against discriminating based on race.
A lower ordered ordered a second district in the state be created that was majority black, and the Supreme Court said that was not allowed.
Democrats had warned before the decision a ruling against race-based districts would put districts all across the country in jeopardy.
According to an analysis at the Federalist, the court ruling found the Voting Rights Act did not compel Louisiana to create that black-majority district.
“This decision directly attacks the racist stereotyping that has infected redistricting for too long. For decades, mapmakers have operated on the crude assumption that black voters (and Latino voters) form a monolithic bloc whose political preferences are dictated first and foremost, if not solely, by skin color. They have treated minority communities as predictable voting machines rather than as individuals with diverse views shaped by education, income, values, faith, and personal experience,” the analysis revealed.
Joe Biden at one point even chastised blacks as not being black enough if they didn’t vote Democrat.
But in fact, during the most recent presidential election, black and Latino support, which long has been controlled by Democrats, surged for Republican President Donald Trump.
The analysis continued, “By ruling that the VRA does not compel states to create additional majority-minority districts when race predominates without strict justification, the justices dismantled the legal machinery that turned racial stereotypes into map-drawing mandates. They refused to let the law be manipulated to enforce the fiction that all members of a racial group share identical political interests. As Justice Thomas has long argued, and as the majority reinforced this week, the Constitution is colorblind. It prohibits the government from dividing citizens by race to achieve predetermined electoral results.”
Democrats up and down the party ladder have been enraged by the court ruling, and have taken to calling the court “illegitimate” because of the decision.
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