Louisiana is ‘tired’ of fighting over its congressional maps. The Supreme Court will review its districts anyway.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a years-old, messy legal battle over Louisiana’s congressional districts that could have nationwide implications for how states consider race as they draw new lines.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a years-old, messy legal battle over Louisiana’s congressional districts that could have nationwide implications for how states consider race as they draw new lines. And given the GOP’s narrow majority, the high court’s decision could be a factor that helps decide control of the House of Representatives after the 2026 election. The state’s briefing at the Supreme Court drips with exasperation: Louisiana was, at first, required by a federal court in 2022 to create a second majority Black district out of the state’s six total districts. A group of self-described “non-African American voters” then sued in 2024, alleging the state violated the Constitution by relying too much on race to meet the first court’s demands. “Louisiana is tired,” state officials told the Supreme Court in December. “Midway through this decade, neither Louisiana nor its citizens know what congressional map they can call home.” The case, Louisiana v. Callais, tees up a series of important questions that deal with race and redistricting. The landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires that states do not dilute the power of minority voters, a response to decades of post-Civil War efforts – particularly in the South – to limit the political power of African Americans. And yet the equal protection clause demands that a state cannot draw a map based on race, even if those efforts are intended to ensure compliance with federal law.