Sunday shows preview: VRA ruling fuels redistricting battle; Iran war crosses 60 days
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Voting Rights Act has triggered a fast-moving redistricting fight across the South, with lawmakers in several states pushing for new congressional and legislative maps even amid uncertainty over whether changes can be made in time for the November midterm elections.
The Supreme Court declared Louisiana’s second majority-Black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in a 6-3 decision split along ideological lines on Wednesday.
The ruling effectively weakened Section 2 of the landmark Voting Rights Act — which prohibits any voting practice or procedure that discriminates based on race, color, or language — by narrowing how the provision can be used to challenge maps.
Advocacy groups, such as the NAACP, had long used the provision to push for majority-minority districts that protect the voting power of historically disenfranchised groups, including Black and Latino voters.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court held that plaintiffs must meet a higher standard when bringing Section 2 claims, requiring them to prove that the state intentionally discriminated based on race when drawing its map rather than pursuing a political advantage.
Civil rights leader and president of the National Action Network, Rev. Al Sharpton, called the high court’s decision a “bullet in the heart of the voting rights movement,” echoing Justice Elena Kagan’s dissent in which she wrote it leaves Section 2 “all but a dead letter.”
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was in the majority, is expected to make an exclusive appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
Republicans widely praised the ruling, while Democrats panned it as an attack on voting rights reminiscent of the Jim Crow era of the 1950s and 60s, when southern states implemented poll taxes and literacy tests that prevented many Black Americans from voting.
“What now is going to happen is it’s going to be more difficult to challenge those laws that get passed that we know are intended to make it more difficult for you to have the representatives that you want at a local level, state level and congressional level,” former Vice President Kamala Harris (D) said in a social media video on Friday.
Some Democrats also raised concerns that the decision could lead to more pickup opportunities for Republicans in the midterms, as lawmakers in states such as Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee scramble to revisit their maps.
Timing has already proven a complicating factor in GOP efforts to craft new legislative boundaries, with primary elections nearing in several states.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) on Thursday suspended the state’s May 16 House primaries, a day after the Supreme Court handed down its ruling. Democratic congressional candidate Lindsay Garcia promptly sued to block Landry’s executive order.
In Alabama, lawmakers are set to convene in Montgomery starting Monday to discuss also potentially moving its upcoming primaries, as the state awaits a decision from the Supreme Court on whether it can revert to a congressional map previously struck down by the Supreme Court.
“By calling the Legislature into a special session, I am ensuring Alabama is prepared should the courts act quickly enough to allow Alabama’s previously drawn congressional and state senate maps to be used during this election cycle,” Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said in a statement on Friday.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) has also called lawmakers back to Nashville to review the state’s congressional map in a special session set to begin on Tuesday.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who is running for governor, has called on the state legislature to draw new lines that would favor Republicans in all nine House districts, targeting the Memphis-based seat held by lone Democrat Steve Cohen.
The ruling could also impact congressional maps in other states, such as Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and South Carolina, where officials have not ruled out the possibility.
There likely won’t be any movement in places like Georgia, however, where Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has said he will not call a special session to take up redistricting in 2026.
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) is set to join CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Iran conflict surpasses 60 days
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are moving toward a showdown with the Trump administration over the U.S. military operation with Iran, as a dispute brews over whether the War Powers clock is still ticking.
The conflict with Iran surpassed 60 days on Friday, the deadline set out in the War Powers Resolution for a president to wind down military activity unless he receives congressional authorization. He may also ask for a 30-day extension to ensure the safe withdrawal of American troops.
However, senior administration officials, including Trump himself, have argued that the initial campaign was effectively “terminated ” when a temporary truce with Tehran was announced on April 7, resetting the clock.
Trump told Congress in a formal letter that there had been “no exchange of fire” since the start of the ceasefire , but the threat posed by Tehran “remains significant.”
Support for the conflict among key Republicans has begun to crack as the conflict stretches on, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joining Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on a Thursday vote to curtail Trump’s authority to wage further military action without first obtaining congressional approval.
Collins was the first GOP senator to switch her vote on the war powers resolution — Democrats’ sixth attempt at one — however, it still ultimately failed.
Trump on Friday shot down the possibility of seeking approval from Congress before potentially resuming hostilities in the Middle East.
“It’s never been sought before, there’s been numerous, many, many times and nobody’s ever gotten it before, they consider it totally unconstitutional,” Trump told reporters at the White House ahead of his departure to Florida for the weekend.
Debate over the timeline comes as lawmakers are growing impatient over the ballooning cost of the war and the economic toll brought on by the blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon this week put a $25 billion price tag on the war so far, an estimate some lawmakers argue is far below the actual figure.
“On the issue of cost, Mr. Hurst, does that $25 billion estimate include all of the costs in terms of damage to our bases, the need to replace planes and munitions, and the costs of injuries to our service, men and women?” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked acting chief financial officer Jules Hurst III during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday.
Independent Sen. Angus King (Vt.) told CNN the same day he thought a “$50 billion estimate” was more accurate.
DOJ indicts Comey again
The Justice Department unveiled a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday — this time over a photo of seashells on his social media.
A federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted Comey on Tuesday on two charges for allegedly threatening the life of President Trump, stemming from a social media post of an image of seashells arranged to read “86 47.”
“Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a Tuesday press conference . “Over the past year, this department has charged dozens of cases involving threats against all sorts of individuals.”
Blanche will be on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, where he will likely be pressed on the indictment.
Comey posted the photo last May but deleted it after facing backlash from critics who interpreted the message as a call for assassination against Trump. The former FBI director denied that the post was intended to incite harm, saying he believed it was a “political message” and did not know the numbers could carry a violent connotation.
Trump didn’t buy that explanation.
“‘86’ is a mob term for ‘kill him.’ They say 86 him! 86 47 means ‘kill President Trump,’” the president wrote in a Wednesday post on Truth Social. “James Comey, who is a Dirty Cop, one of the worst, knows this full well! EIGHT MILES OUT, SIX FEET DOWN! Didn’t he also lie to the FBI about this??? I think so!”
Comey, who surrendered to federal authorities this week, maintained his innocence in a Tuesday video responding to the indictment.
“Well, they’re back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina Beach a year ago, and this won’t be the end of it,” he said. “But nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let’s go.”
Spirit Airlines shuts down operations
Spirit Airlines announced on Saturday that it was shuttering after failing to reach a deal with the Trump administration for a government bailout.
The administration was reportedly discussing a $500 million plan to save Spirit, which has filed for bankruptcy twice in the past year, but the deal never materialized amid opposition from some of Trump’s allies in Congress.
The deal could eventually have given the U.S. government the option of as much as a 90 percent ownership stake in the airline, according to Bloomberg.
The proposed bailout quickly drew criticism from business leaders and conservative lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who ripped it as “an absolutely TERRIBLE idea.”
Spirit’s parent company, Spirit Aviation Holdings, decided to wind down operations due to rising aviation fuel prices. All flights were canceled, and travelers were urged not to go to the airport.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is set to join ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, rolled out a relief plan shortly after Saturday’s announcement aimed at helping passengers rebook their flights on other airlines.
“I would recommend that if you have a ticket with Spirit that you actually try to book with these airlines as soon as possible,” Duffy said at a press conference. “These offers are not going to be open forever, and the airlines are going to have varying degrees of time frames at which you can take advantage of the opportunity.”
Spirit is expected to automatically process refunds to travelers who paid with credit or debit cards.
See the full list of guests on the Sunday morning news shows below:
NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”:Senior Elections Analyst at Real Clear Politics Sean Trende, staff writer for The Atlantic Thomas Chatterton Williams
Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, British Ambassador to the U.S. Sir Christian Turner, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas)
Fox News “Fox News Sunday”:Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch
CNN “State of the Union”: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
CBS “Face the Nation”: National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), President and CEO of Minneapolis Federal Reserve Neel Kashkari, Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.)
ABC “This Week”:Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
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