A Return to Jim Crow? Ex-DOJ Civil Rights Chief Kristen Clarke Denounces Gutting of Voting Rights Act

We speak with Kristen Clarke, general counsel of the NAACP, about growing threats to democracy in the United States following the Supreme Court’s gutting of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Republican lawmakers across the South are responding to the ruling by racing to redraw their congressional maps, which is expected to lead to a historic drop in the number of Black representatives in Congress. “The Supreme Court’s devastating decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case has really turned our country upside down,” says Clarke, who previously served as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department in the Biden administration. She says that given the history of racial discrimination in the United States, particularly in the Deep South, “it is unsurprising” to see lawmakers “race at lightning speed to eradicate the gains that have been made over the decades.” Clarke also discusses President Trump’s efforts to take federal control of elections in at least eight states, which Clarke says is part of his administration’s goal to “lock out certain voters” and commit “mass disenfranchisement.”

Democracy Now!
Tennessee Republicans salivating at the chance to draw out the last Democratic seat in Tennessee We get 40% of our budget from the federal government. At what point to Blue states stop sending us money? This all has a very secession-y vibe to it. #SCOTUSReform #UnpackTheCourt

@A_Minion @SrRochardBunson @Uair

RE
We were on the right path (going left)

Well, the #midterms #midterms2026 are around the corner, let's get motivated

We can use some #MAGA to help, #margorietaylorgreene can make some R not vote

The MAGA congresswoman shared what #Trump yelled at her (#Epstein)
Sarah Ewall-Wice Dec 29 2025
https://www.thedailybeast.com/mtg-spills-trumps-jaw-dropping-reason-for-epstein-cover-up/y

@qkslvrwolf
RE #SCOTUSreform
The first chance to do anything like this is 2029

YES, a Dem Prez and Congress can expand the court, then

@uspolitics

"Sweeping Bill Would Completely Overhaul Supreme Court as We Know It"

Not if #LeonardLeo and the #FederalistSociety have anything to say about it

#SCOTUS #SCOTUSReform

Senator Ron Wyden just dropped the text of a bill to overhaul SCOTUS:

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-introduces-sweeping-court-reforms-to-restore-public-trust-as-supreme-court-faces-legitimacy-crisis

Read through, the links to the full text are at the bottom.

#SCOTUSReform #USPolitics

Wyden Introduces Sweeping Court Reforms to Restore Public Trust as Supreme Court Faces Legitimacy Crisis | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

Senator Ron Wyden just dropped the text of a bill to overhaul SCOTUS:

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-introduces-sweeping-court-reforms-to-restore-public-trust-as-supreme-court-faces-legitimacy-crisis

Read through, the links to the full text are at the bottom.

#SCOTUSReform #USPolitics

Wyden Introduces Sweeping Court Reforms to Restore Public Trust as Supreme Court Faces Legitimacy Crisis | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

Senator Ron Wyden just dropped the text of a bill to overhaul SCOTUS:

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-introduces-sweeping-court-reforms-to-restore-public-trust-as-supreme-court-faces-legitimacy-crisis

Read through, the links to the full text are at the bottom.

#SCOTUSReform #USPolitics

Wyden Introduces Sweeping Court Reforms to Restore Public Trust as Supreme Court Faces Legitimacy Crisis | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

Each justice would be required to publicly release their opinions & disclose how they voted on issues considered on an emergency basis, sometimes referred to as the #ShadowDocket. Such decisions, which have become more common & increasingly controversial in recent years, don’t identify how each justice voted.

#law #SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics #Judiciary #JudicialReform #CourtReform #SCOTUSreform #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

It would require the #IRS to initiate an #audit of the justices’ tax returns each year, release the results & make the tax filings public. Nominees to the court would have to disclose 3 yrs of tax returns.

Another measure would allow a two-thirds vote of the court to force a fellow justice to #recuse from a case.

#law #SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics #Judiciary #JudicialReform #CourtReform #SCOTUSreform #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

The #legislation would also require #SCOTUS nominees to be automatically scheduled for a vote in the #Senate if their nominations have lingered in committee for >180 days.

The measure would prevent senators from blocking a president’s nominees by refusing to hold a vote on them, as then-Senate Majority Leader #MitchMcConnell (R-KY) did after President Barack #Obama’s nomination of #MerrickGarland in 2016.

#law #ethics #JudicialEthics #SCOTUSreform #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol