Hakeem Jeffries spent months promising the Supreme Court would "do the right thing" on the Alabama front of the redistricting war.
Last night, the Court did exactly the right thing – and Jeffries already called it illegitimate.
The 6-3 ruling means Alabama's 2023 congressional map takes effect for November's midterms, and one Democrat is about to lose his seat.
The Court Shut Down a Rogue Federal Judge
A three-judge panel in Birmingham blocked Alabama's map just last week, ruling it "intentionally discriminated based on race."
The Supreme Court saw it differently.
In an unsigned 6-3 order, the conservative majority said the lower court had no business inserting itself into Alabama's election process.
The majority ruled the lower court "interposed itself into Alabama's ongoing efforts to conduct its imminent 2026 congressional elections under maps that its elected representatives selected."
Translation: Alabama's legislature drew a map. A federal judge decided he knew better. The Supreme Court told him he didn't.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was direct: "Tonight's decision is a major victory for Alabama and for the principle of self-governance. The United States Supreme Court confirmed what we always knew – that Alabama's Congressional maps are constitutional and lawful under the Voting Rights Act."
Gov. Kay Ivey had already set an Aug. 11 special primary, and the ballot is now locked in under the new map.
One Democrat Seat Is Gone
Rep. Shomari Figures – the Democrat who currently holds Alabama's 2nd Congressional District – is expected to lose his seat under the new boundaries.
The 6R-1D map replaces a court-imposed arrangement that carved out a second majority-Black district specifically to produce a Democratic seat.
The ruling builds directly on the Court's April 29 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, where Justice Samuel Alito wrote that states drawing districts primarily on the basis of race – without proof of current discrimination – are violating the Constitution, not complying with it.
That ruling is what set Jeffries off. He called the Court "illegitimate" on national television the same day Callais came down, and Trump fired back on Truth Social demanding he withdraw the statement immediately.
The principle is simple: you cannot gerrymander for Democrats and call it the Voting Rights Act.
The Redistricting War Just Turned Against Democrats
This is not just about Alabama.
Republicans have redrawn maps in Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri – all targeting Democrat-held seats built around racial composition.
Fox News reports that on the national scoresheet, Republicans are looking at a possible gain of 16 seats compared to Democrats' six – and that's before Alabama's seat flips in November.
Trump posted that Republicans could gain 20 House seats through redistricting. South Carolina chose not to join, but every other Southern state with a viable target moved.
Jeffries' only plan now is to wait until 2028 and gerrymander blue states harder – New York, Oregon, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland.
He admitted it himself, saying Democrats would "take the steps necessary" in those states "in advance of the 2028 election."
That is not a legal argument. That is a man watching the map shift and reaching for a revenge plan he will not be able to execute until after Republicans run up the score in November.
The Supreme Court confirmed what conservatives have argued for years: drawing lines based on race is racial discrimination regardless of which party benefits.
Alabama's legislature drew a constitutional map in 2023. Democrats spent three years in court trying to block it. Now they are out of appeals – and out of a seat.
Sources:
- Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, "Attorney General Marshall Releases Statement Following Major Redistricting Victory," Alabama Attorney General's Office, June 2, 2026.
- "Supreme Court Lets Alabama Use Republican-Friendly House Map," Bloomberg Law, June 3, 2026.
- "Supreme Court allows Alabama to use congressional map that eliminates a majority-Black district," NBC News, June 3, 2026.
- "GOP redistricting gains dwarf setbacks in Alabama, South Carolina maps," Fox News, June 2026.
- Jonathan Turley, "Calling the court illegitimate is the left's latest assault on the Constitution," Fox News, May 1, 2026.
- "Gov. Ivey hails Supreme Court ruling as major win for Alabama congressional map," ABC 33/40 / Local 12, June 3, 2026.
- "House Redistricting Strategery – the Endgame?" RedState, May 2, 2026.
