Trump celebrates Supreme Court decision that could sway elections for years to come

Amidst a flurry of angry social media posts and furious speeches from Donald Trump, a decision has been made elsewhere in Washington that has the potential to sway the result of the next election.

A Supreme Court decision could cost countless non-white politicians their seats in Congress.

Under the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, states with high minority populations in concentrated areas would be required to draw congressional districts that would give non-white candidates a chance of winning.

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But much of that law was struck down in a 6-3 decision today.

Prominent civil rights leader Al Sharpton described the move as a "bullet in the heart of the voting rights movement".

"The Supreme Court has not just weakened a law, it has humiliated and dismantled the life's work of Dr Martin Luther King, John Lewis, and every man and woman who marched, bled and died for Black Americans to have an equal voice at the ballot box," he said.

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President Donald Trump praised the decision in a Truth Social post.

"Today's 6-3 Supreme Court decision in the Callais case is a BIG WIN for Equal Protection under the Law, as it returns the Voting Rights Act to its Original Intent, which was to protect against intentional Racial Discrimination," he said.

Barack Obama meanwhile was sharply critical of the ruling.

"Today's Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities - so long as they do it under the guise of "partisanship" rather than explicit 'racial bias'," Obama said.

"And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach."

The Supreme Court decision was specifically overturning a congressional map in Louisiana.

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But Republicans are eyeing the decision as a means of holding power in Congress.

"Right now, this only applies to Louisiana, but states can challenge their congressional maps and, with precedent, pick up Republican seats," Trump's former campaign manager Brad Parscale said.

"If states are aggressive, we could see a healthy majority in the House perpetually."

In the south of America, Republicans are now rapidly moving to draw black Democrats out of their seats.

Tennessee's senator Marsha Blackburn has already released a draft map that would split the black majority seat in Memphis into three seats where white voters would have overwhelming advantages.

And in Florida this morning, Republicans in the legislature redrew the congressional map that would give their party a 24-4 seat advantage.

Prominent Republicans in Mississippi are already pushing to abolish that state's only black majority seat.

And the loss could be even bigger in Georgia, where Democrats hold four black majority seats.

As a consequence of the law being changed, Democrats could lose more than a dozen seats in the House of Representatives.

Countless more could be lost in state legislatures.

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