Political Glance
A three-judge panel on Tuesday blocked Alabama Republicans’ congressional map that would’ve given the party a potential pickup opportunity in the midterms.
The judges ruled the Supreme Court’s recent blockbuster decision narrowing the Voting Rights Act does not impact their finding that the map intentionally discriminates against Black voters in violation of the Constitution.
It means Alabama cannot use its design this year unless Republican leaders appeal directly to the Supreme Court, which they have vowed to do.
“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the ruling reads.
“And under the unusual circumstances of this case, we conclude that a limited order requiring the Secretary to continue using this Court’s race-blind map will not disrupt Alabama’s elections,” it continued.
Tuesday’s panel included U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, an appointee of former President Clinton, along with U.S. District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer, who were both appointed by President Trump.
Early this month, a single pen stroke effectively ended representative Steve Cohen’s career in Congress. The man who has represented Memphis for 19 years will turn 77 later this month, but he wasn’t planning on retiring. He hadn’t lost any primary. The reason was that his district had been erased around him.
Democrat Chedrick Greene has won a special state Senate election in Michigan, NBC News projects, ensuring his party will keep control of the closely divided chamber.
Since Donald Trump’s first term, they have been viewed comfortingly as the “adults in the room,” a last line of defense against the impulsive whims of a president with access to the nuclear codes.
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday determined that President Trump’s halt on processing immigration applications for citizens of countries listed under his travel ban was unlawful, granting an injunction on a policy she determined was unfairly leaving thousands in limbo.
A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are pushing a bill to fund the construction of a secure 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the White House and say the project is essential to national security after a gunman tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday.
New York officials are suing the Trump administration to recover more than $73 million in highway funding, in a fight over noncitizens’ access to commercial drivers licenses.
