Supreme Court’s MAGA Majority Gives GOP Another Boost for the Midterms

It’s both hardly surprising and yet still downright shocking whenever the right-wing Supreme Court abandons any pretense of impartiality to give Republicans and Donald Trump an advantage.

Therefore, it was to be expected that the MAGA justices would overturn a lower court ruling that barred Alabama from using a racially gerrymandered map that eliminates one of the state’s majority-minority districts.

That doesn’t make it any less contemptible, which is certainly how Democrats feel about it.

“The far-right Supreme Court has issued another partisan redistricting decision,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). “Extremist MAGA justices have done nothing but advance the political interests of the Republican Party. They have zero credibility.”

It’s tough to disagree with him.

Last week, a three-judge panel said in its decision that Alabama Republicans wanted to use “a legislatively enacted districting plan that we found (after a full trial) intentionally discriminated against Black voters based on race in violation of the Constitution.”

And while they were loath to get involved in an election, they felt that they had no choice.

“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 three judges, two of whom were nominated by Trump, ruled.

The six Republicans on the Supreme Court had no such qualms.

It’s important to remember that Alabama’s primaries were supposed to be held last month. And while they partially were, Gov. Kay Ivey (R) changed the rules for some House districts once it became clear that the high court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais would allow her state to disenfranchise its African-American residents.

In an unsigned decision, the MAGA majority chastised the lower court for ignoring its gutting of the Voting Rights Act through Callais. In addition, they also chided them for doing precisely what the Supreme Court is doing.

“We have repeatedly cautioned that lower federal courts should not ‘alter the election rules on the eve of an election,’” the decision stated.

Right; only the Supreme Court should be allowed to do that.

The minority were not pleased.

In a signed dissent, the three justices appointed by Democrats said the decision “disregards both democratic values and the rule of law.”

The justices also call out the majority for its blatant partisanship.

“In addition to being wrong on the merits, the Court’s decision inflicts two grave harms on the public,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor in the dissent. “It debases the democratic process by upending Alabama’s entire election in the name of permitting Alabama to discriminate against Black Alabamians. It also corrodes the rule of law by rewarding Alabama’s gamesmanship and outright defiance of court orders.”

She added that the decision would create chaos in Alabama because voters would have to be reassigned to the new districts with time running out to do so.

However, that is not an issue the MAGA justices concerned themselves with since an extra Republican seat in the midterms was on the line… and Trump needs all the help he can get.