The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on May 3, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Last week, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a 2022 Louisiana congressional map that had been gerrymandered to create a second majority-Black district. The three liberal justices dissented, saying the ruling would quote, “eviscerate” a section of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, while conservatives in the majority said the decision “updated” its legal framework. Reverend Raphael Warnock, democratic senator from the state of Georgia, joins us this morning from Atlanta. Welcome back to the program.
SEN. REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So our CBS News legal analyst described this decision as narrowing the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Effectively, it means it’s now going to be harder to bring any lawsuits claiming that gerrymandering discriminates along racial lines unless there is proof of that intent. Why do you call that a defeat for American democracy?
SEN. WARNOCK: Margaret, let’s be clear, what happened this week is nothing less than a massive and devastating blow, not only to our democracy, but particularly to people of color in the South. This question about intent is on its head, misleading, and it ignores our history. We had 100 years after the 15th Amendment was passed, which, on paper, gave Black people the right to vote, but with supposedly or putatively race neutral methods. For 100 years, the right to vote was denied. But in more recent history, the Supreme Court, this same conservative Supreme Court, hobbled Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 with Shelby v. Holder. Since then, we’ve seen the racial turnout gap get wider and wider, not smaller, and it has grown twice as fast in the states that used to be under Section 5. We will see a devastating impact as a result of this, and now, more than ever, we’ve got to stand up and fight for our democracy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But as you just said, the Voting Rights Act has been, you know, weighed by the court multiple times, including back in 2013 but when it was originally written, there were things in place that- that don’t exist now, right? There was, there was a poll tax in southern states. The law required nine of those states to go get federal approval or pre-clearance before they changed their own voting rules. Congress in the 80s updated this law. Are you of the opinion that the law needs to stand as it was originally written, or does Congress now need to do some work to update it?
SEN. WARNOCK: Listen, I- I know that there are those who are tired of the remedy. I’m tired of racism. I think it’s a strange position to be more concerned about the medicine than you are about the malady. In- in that recent history, Roberts wrote in 2013 when they gutted Section 5, that- that this racial turnout gap had- had gone away. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she said, look, getting rid of the protections of the Voting Rights law, in this moment, it’s like getting rid of your umbrella in the midst of a rainstorm because you’re not getting wet. And since then, again, since then- everybody’s entitled to their own opinions, you’re not entitled to your own facts. Since then, the racial voter turnout has grown larger and twice as larger- twice as large in the states that were under Section 5, and that- there’s a reason for that, Margaret. Since they removed the protections of Section 5, states that used to play old games, they’re playing- they’re playing new games. They’re 21st Century Jim Crow tactics in new clothes, moving voter polls, closing polls in Black and Brown communities. The data shows that black and brown people spend much longer time in longer lines, purging people- people literally showing up and not knowing that their names have been purged from the rolls. And the data shows that this disproportionately impacts black and brown citizens. And now–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –So–
SEN. WARNOCK:–as a result of the decision this week. They’re saying that even when you show up, we have- we have given the green light so that politicians can play games with the lines, so that even when you overcome those barriers and show up–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yeah–
SEN. WARNOCK: –your voices will be muted.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, it sounds like you want to go back to the letter of the law from 1965, you want Congress to, once again, reinstitute preclearance for these southern states. That’s what I just heard you lay out.
SEN. WARNOCK: Yeah, that was absolutely–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay–
SEN. WARNOCK: –absolutely.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Alright, so when- I want to point something out to you, which is that the current Congress, statistically, in 2025 has a record high number, 66 Black members, according to Pew Research, including five Republi- Republicans, that’s the most to ever serve in Congress. People will look at that and say, we are in a different country than we were, as- as Roberts once argued, as you just pointed out. Now that we are in this redistricting arms race that both parties are playing with here, do you think that will hurt Black representation?
SEN. WARNOCK: I think that the court sadly poured fuel on this redistricting arms race. The solution to this really–
MARGARET BRENNAN: To be clear, you–
SEN. WARNOCK: –in my opinion–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –support redistricting that your party is carrying out.
SEN. WARNOCK: I- I do because Donald Trump, who is better at dividing us than anybody I know, instituted an arms race in redistricting, but I actually hate partisan gerrymandering. I- I don’t like gerrymandering, but we could not unilaterally disarm. He’s the one who called Texas and said, literally, give me six more seats. And so, California and other states had to respond, Virginia in kind. But the solution to this really is to ban partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering turns our elections on its head, so that rather than the people picking their politicians–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right–
SEN. WARNOCK: –or their public servants, the politicians are picking their voters.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right exactly, which is why I’m asking you how you could support it. But I understand you’re saying the context of the moment is an emergency. Let me ask you–
SEN. WARNOCK: Well, we could- I have a bill though, Margaret, I have a bill.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I saw that bill, yes.
SEN. WARNOCK: –right now that would get that would get rid of partisan gerrymandering, and so far, I’ve had no Republican takers.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, as we just said, your party is supporting the partisan redistricting in places like California and Virginia as well. Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida said Democrats do not care about Black representation. They only care about Democrat representation. Here’s what Congressman Wesley Hunt of Texas said when he was asked about the decision of the four Black Republicans to leave Congress
[REP. WESLEY HUNT SOT STARTS]
REP. WESLEY HUNT: I represent a white majority district that President Trump would have won by over 20 points, and I won by 25 points the last time I ran. I’m being judged not by the color of my skin, but by the content of my character. I don’t care how many Black people are here. I want the most qualified people that are here.
[REP. WESLEY HUNT SOT ENDS ]
MARGARET BRENNAN: So what do you make of the argument that you just heard there from Congressman Hunt.
SEN. WARNOCK: He doesn’t understand American history. No one- he’s quoting the words of Dr King. No one was more committed to a country that embraces all of us than Dr. King. But Dr King, looking at that reality, is the one who is the moral power behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our covenant as an American people is E pluribus unum, out of many one. And so this notion that representation does not matter ignores history, it ignores the facts, is uninformed. Representation does matter. When I- when I go to the Senate, every week, I bring my story and my experience as a Black kid who grew up in public housing in Savannah, and so does that white kid who grew up in- in Appalachia. She brings her experience too. And so when- when we create an increasing monolith, which is what I think is going to happen as a result of these- this decision this week, we hurt the democracy itself, and we make it harder to get at a policy- policies that embrace all of our children and give every child a chance.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, thank you for your time this morning. And I do want to note, since that Supreme Court decision, the governor’s Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee have all indicated interest in redrawing congressional maps.
SEN. WARNOCK: Yep. And we can end this right now by passing my bill.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Senator, we’ll leave it there. We’ll be right back.