"I'm Launching...": Schumer Makes Stunning Announcement After Scotus Ruling On Voting Rights Act

Mr. President, earlier this morning, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court took another step towards resurrecting the Jim Crow South in a decision that for all practical purposes upends half a century of precedent, defies the spirit of the American civil rights movement and reverses generations of progress towards racial justice. The right-wing court essentially declared it valid and appropriate for states to discriminate against racial minorities in drawing districts. The Voting Rights Act, a law written in the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice of Americans who marched, who fought and died for the right to vote and to prevent racial discrimination, has been diminished once again. The consequence of this decision is as clear as it is dangerous. Fewer protections for voters, more power for politicians to draw maps that silence them, particularly historically disenfranchised voters. Now, the conservative court has tried to make it seem like its decision today was narrow and tailored, but let's be very clear. In the words of Justice Kagan, this decision is a demolition, a demolition of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It opens the floodgates for states across the South to redraw their congressional districts and make voters of color essentially invisible in our democracy. By some estimates, this decision could lead conservative state legislatures to draw as many as 19 additional seats that favor Republicans in the House. So far from being a narrow decision, this MAGA court is trying to give Republicans a leg up, an illegitimate leg up, in future elections. Let me say it again. This case is the MAGA court trying to give Republicans a leg up in future elections. It is a knife to the heart of some of the most important civil rights legislation that past generations marched for, organized for, and bled for. It will bring back the old sinister practices long discarded to the dustbin of history. State legislatures deluding, erasing, and overpowering voters of color. Shame on the high court. Shame on the MAGA justices rigging our elections. And this did not happen all at once. For years, this court, beginning with the Roberts decision and the awful Shelby County decision, chipped away at the Voting Rights Act, decision by a decision. Chief Justice Roberts bears a lot of the blame for this awful decision. And the commitment of equal representation has been broken before. But every time Americans have forced it back into the law, Senate Democrats will fight it once again to reverse this awful, awful decision. And even before this Gresham decision, we knew the MAGA far right was hell-bent on trying to undermine our democracy. And so, we know that MAGA right is trying to rig our democracy. We knew it long before this decision. Donald Trump knows, his party knows, that they're going to lose this election in 2026, which is why they're working round the clock to tilt their scales unfairly in their favor. Trump issued another executive order a month ago to subvert our elections. Last week, they took aim at the Southern Poverty Law Center to chill speech and suppress actions from organizations that protect democracy. Trump continues to push for his SAVE Act to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans, and he's stacked his administration with election deniers. So today, I am launching the Democratic Party's most expansive effort to date to protect the 2026 midterm elections and to shield them from the direct threats posed by Trump and MAGA Republicans. This afternoon, a group of senators and I will meet with former Attorney General Eric Holder, Mark Elias, and some of the country's top election experts to talk about how we can be ready for any and all threats that might come against our elections this fall. And I want to thank my Senate Democratic colleagues for joining in today's meeting. We know that some on the extreme right will try to rig the system. Donald Trump said it. He said he can't win the election except by rigging it. That's exactly, that's more or less what he said. Donald Trump's Justice Department sought to seize state voter rolls. Right-wingers raided election offices in Georgia. They pressed election officials in Arizona to turn over documents. Online radicals are threatening coal workers, spreading lies about voter fraud. And here in Congress, hard-right Republicans are trying to pass Jim Crow 2.0 in the SAVE Act. These threats are only going to intensify the closer we get to election day. So our election fraud task force represents the most aggressive and coordinated effort to date to make sure our elections this fall are fairly, are protected. The goal of our task force is to ensure that every vote counts and every American can participate in our democracy without coercion, intimidation, or threats from Donald Trump or anyone else. Now on DHS, a lot's happening today. Last night, Donald Trump confirmed what I've been saying for weeks. Speaker Johnson and House Republicans are holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security. They are holding it up, the Republicans, not Democrats. The White House said it, in effect. The White House put a memo urging House Republicans to stop dithering and pass the DHS bill that every Democrat and every Republican in the Senate passed unanimously, not once but twice. For weeks, Republicans have tried to claim the blame for their shutdown on Democrats. The Trump administration just exposed how preposterous that lie is. Republican dysfunction is endangering our national security. House Republicans have been so busy fighting one another in the House that Republicans, get your act together. Our national security depends on it. While Democrats have been trying to fund the Secret Service, TSA, Coast Guard, CISA, FEMA, and other crucial agencies, Republicans have been trying to jam through as much as another $140 billion for Trump's rogue agencies. And while Democrats have been working diligently and assiduously to try and lower Americans' costs, Republicans want to splurge on a $400 million gold-plated ballroom for the president. The last thing Americans want us spending their tax dollars on is a gilded palace for Donald Trump. What will Trump ask for Americans to pay for next? A moat? What else could $400 million get Americans? A year of child care for 30,000 families? Skills for training 50,000 new electricians, plumbers, and welders? Disaster loans for 10,000 households? And so much more. Keep in mind that just one month ago today, Donald Trump said, quote, there's not one dime of government money going into the ballroom. Then put your money where your mouth is, President Trump. Stop trying to waste Americans' hard-earned tax dollars on this extravagance and get your party to work with Democrats to keep the American people safe. And finally, on Iran and gas prices, as I said, there's a lot going on. Just hours ago, Pentagon officials told Congress that Trump's disastrous war has cost taxpayers $25 billion. Can you believe it? At least $25 billion, and we're less than two months into this war. $25 billion is just the sticker price. Americans are also paying for this war at the pump. This morning, average gas prices in America hit $4.23 a gallon. That's a record high since the start of the war. Let me repeat. U.S. gas prices hit its highest level since beginning of war in Iran. It's now $4.23, up 40 percent since Trump started this costly war with Iran. The price of gas is the highest been in four years. There's only one person to blame, Donald J. Trump. Trump says he's bleeding Iran economically, but he's draining the pockets of American families. And for what? The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. The Iranian regime is still radical. Our service members are still in harm's way. Trump still has no idea how to end this blunder. Instead, we hear reports that Trump's telling his aides to prepare for a protracted blockade. This morning, Trump warned that Iran better get smart soon. Well, it's Donald Trump who better get smart soon and end this war, unless he wants Americans to continue paying $4.23 at the pump. This week, Democrats will force a vote on our War Powers Resolution for the sixth time. We'll continue to force votes every week as this war rages on. I urge my Republican friends, you can help bail Donald Trump out of his mess. Vote with us to end this war, or you, Republican senators, will continue to face the outrage of the American people. This Friday marks 60 days since Trump officially notified Congress that he had launched this reckless war. Under the War Powers Act, Trump must seek authorization for his war to continue beyond 60 days. After that deadline, Republicans will have no place to hide, no more hollow excuses to let this fighting continue. Republicans know Trump's handling of this war has been a disaster. They see how much the American people are hurting right now. How many War Powers Resolutions do Democrats need to put before Senate Republicans until they do what's right? How many Americans will have to go bankrupt? How many days do our servicemembers have to spend apart from their families? And how many people will have to die before Trump realizes that this war has failed?