Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan ripped her conservative colleagues, suggesting that some of their rulings have undermined democracy and increased polarization.
In the latest political remarks from one of the three Democrat-appointed justices currently on the nation’s highest court, Kagan slammed rulings on the Voting Rights Act and campaign finance during a Tuesday talk at Catholic University’s law school in Washington, D.C.
“Part of the reason why the court got it wrong was a kind of lack of the appropriate concern or understanding of the consequences of their decisions,” the Barack Obama appointee said during her remarks.
“I do think in all these areas the court has blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works and has created a democracy that doesn’t work as well as it should,” Kagan added.
Justice Elena Kagan said that the Supreme Court has “blinded itself” to the effects of its rulings and has “created a democracy that does not work as well as it should,” at an event Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Kagan pointed to rulings that weakened the Voting Rights Act and allowed for more partisan gerrymandering.
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 21, 2026
The rare public rebuke of her colleagues comes as both parties have engaged in redrawing of congressional maps to give them a partisan advantage in elections.
“Over the last couple of years especially, both political parties have been engaged in a race to the bottom in terms of doing these partisan gerrymanders, … making what I think is unfortunately a too polarized country even more so,” the Obama appointee said. “The people of America look around and think that all this money chasing all these political candidates is a nightmare, and they’re right.”
The liberal justice was referring to a 2019 decision that judges could not intervene to limit partisan gerrymandering and also to rulings that have failed to get a handle on out-of-control campaign financing.
She also bemoaned the “evisceration” of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act by an April decision against a Louisiana map gerrymandered along racial lines, blatant unconstitutional discrimination to favor blacks.
Kagan did not specifically name any of the high court’s conservatives or go so far as to accuse them of being in the bag for President Donald J. Trump, citing rulings on tariffs, birthright citizenship, and mail-in ballots that the president has not been happy with.
“There was a period of time where the court was in a better place and the country was in a better place because the court was more balanced and it was unclear whether the court could push through anybody’s program,” Kagan said, according to The New York Times.
“Nobody in America thought that the court was in the pocket of any one group or any one party,” she added, “and the court had a kind of legitimacy.”
Chief Justice John Roberts has rejected suggestions that the court is motivated by politics.
“We’re not simply part of the political process, and there’s a reason for that, and I’m not sure people grasp that as much as is appropriate,” he said earlier this year.
Justice Kagan’s remarks come two weeks before voters go to the polls in what could be the most pivotal midterm elections in the nation’s history.
- Obama-appointed SCOTUS justice slams conservative colleagues - October 22, 2026
- Cash-burning rapper who flaunted his wealth nailed by feds for $4M food stamp fraud - October 22, 2026
- Slugga: Musk rockets to the top of Dems’ target list if they win midterms - October 22, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.