Supreme Court overturns Alabama redistricting order from Milligan case
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Republicans celebrated another high court ruling in their favor after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to reconsider its congressional map just three years after the bench forced a race-conscious redraw.
After the court ruled that the Louisiana map improperly weighted racial factors, Alabama lawmakers moved quickly to advance a redistricting plan aimed at triggering a new legal review. That effort paid off late Monday, when the Supreme Court reversed its 2023 decision in “Allen v. Milligan,” which created a second district sensitive to the Black population, flipping Democrats in 2024 and sending the case back to a federal court in Birmingham.
“Our elections should be decided by Alabamians at the ballot box, not by judges in the courtroom. I appreciate SCOTUS taking action on this issue, and I look forward to Alabama choosing its congressional representation using a map drawn by those closest to the people,” Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, told Fox News Digital.
Ledbetter called the decision “a huge victory not only for Alabama, but for conservatives across the country.”
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new order sends the case In a federal court in Birmingham, the panel now includes six Trump-appointed district judges and one Obama appointee, giving Montgomery leeway for the legislature to use the 2023 “Livingston Map” drawn by the GOP that launched the initial lawsuit.
Ledbetter said his goal is to pass the 2023 “Livingston Map,” named for Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, to give Gov. Kay Ivey the opportunity to approve it and get a broader constitutional test for race-based redistricting in light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the “Callais” decision.
While Alabama currently has a 5-2 Republican majority in Congress, before the Milligan case it had a 6-1 map that included a minority-favored district covering Birmingham and the state’s historic Black Belt.
Before the decision, Friday’s legislative session descended into chaos after Republicans approved sending the “Livingston” resolution to Ivey.
Members of parliament were forced to evacuate the House of Representatives after violent protests broke out inside, a Montgomery source told Fox News Digital. It was reported that one attacker was detained.
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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who filed emergency requests with the Supreme Court that helped spur swift action, said Monday that he was “done” to put Ledbetter and Senate President Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, in position to potentially draw a 7-0 congressional map.
House Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) criticized the legislature’s decision, likening it to, or at least referring to, the 1965 beating of black demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, by state police during the Civil Rights era.
Friday’s court filing on Singleton’s behalf continued: “Less than a week ago, as tornado sirens went off and flooding forced the evacuation of the Alabama legislative chambers, White legislators introduced an illegal and unconstitutional bill.”
Demonstrators hold signs outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on October 15, 2025, as the court considers restricting the creation of majority-black and majority-Hispanic voting districts. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Court nevertheless sided with the legislative majority.
Marshall said later Monday that Alabama has long had to redraw its decade-old congressional maps based on race.
“We have fought for years against courts that forced Alabama to segregate its citizens by race, and we were right to fight. On April 29, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Louisiana v. Calais. The court confirmed what we have argued for years. States cannot be forced to gerrymander by race.”
“Let’s be clear about what happened here. Alabama originally drew its maps around geography and communities: the Gulf Coast, the Black Belt, the Wiregrass, and a federal court punished us for that. Today the Supreme Court affirmed the state’s long-held position.”
While the Livingston map favored by some Republicans presents a possible 6-1 scenario for the GOP, Marshall signaled Monday’s court decision could allow lawmakers to go further.
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Alabama Governor Kay Ivey attends homecoming ceremonies during halftime of the game between the South Alabama Jaguars and Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on September 13, 2025. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)
“My mission in this office was to put the legislature in the best possible legal position to draw a congressional map 7 to 0 in favor of the Republicans. My office has never underestimated the responsibility of our state motto,” Audemus said of Jura Nostra Defendere.
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The slogan could become a clarion call for other states to try their hand at eliminating racial factors from congressional maps ahead of a heated national primary.
“We dare to defend our rights,” Marshall said as he translated the slogan into English. “Stay tuned.”
