Transcript: Sen. Raphael Warnock on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” May 3, 2026

The following is the text of the interview with Sen. Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia, aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on May 3, 2026.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: Last week, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s 2022 congressional map that was intended to create a second black district. Three liberal justices dissented, saying the decision would cite and “clarify” a section of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, while conservatives in the majority said the decision “revises” its constitutional framework. The Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democratic senator from the state of Georgia, joins us this morning from Atlanta. Welcome back to the program.

SEN. REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: Hello.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So our CBS News legal analyst described the decision as narrowing the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Effectively, it means that it will now be difficult to bring any lawsuits alleging racial discrimination 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 just a huge and damaging blow, not just to our democracy, but especially to people of color in the South. This question about purpose is on its head, misleading, and ignores our history. It was 100 years after the passage of the 15th Amendment, which, on paper, gave Black people the right to vote, but in ways that were supposed to be racially neutral or set aside. For 100 years, the right to vote was denied. But in recent history, the Supreme Court, itself a conservative Supreme Court, struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 in Shelby v. Holder. Since then, we have seen the racial disparity widen, not narrow, and it has doubled in the states that were under Section 5. We will see the worst impact from this, and now, more than ever, we must stand up and fight for our democracy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But as you just said, the Voting Rights Act, you know, has been weighed by the court many times, including after 2013 but when it was originally drafted, there were things that were–that aren’t there now, right? There was, there was a poll tax in the southern states. The law required nine of those states to get federal approval or prior approval before changing their voting laws. Congress in the 80s revised this law. Do you think the law needs to stand as originally written, or does Congress now need to do some work to revise it?

SEN. WARNOCK: Listen, I know some people are tired of the solution. I’m tired of discrimination. I think it’s a strange situation to worry more about the medicine than the disease. In that recent history, Roberts wrote in 2013 when they released Section 5, that this racial gap has ended. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she said, look, taking away the protections of the Voting Rights Act, at this moment, is like taking away your umbrella in the middle of a rainstorm because you don’t get it. And since then, again, since then- everyone is entitled to their opinions, you are not entitled to your facts. Since then, the number of ethnic voters has increased and it’s twice as big- twice as big in the states that were under Section 5, and that’s- there’s a reason for that, Margaret. Since they removed the protections of Section 5, they said they were playing old games, they are playing- they are playing new games. 21st century Jim Crow tactics in new clothes, swaying votes, shut out the votes in Black and Brown communities. The data shows that black and brown people spend the longest time in long lines, cleaning people- people who literally show up and don’t know their names have been removed from the scrolls. And the data shows that this disproportionately affects black and brown citizens. And now–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –So–

SEN. WARNOCK:–because of the decision this week. They say that even if you show up, let’s give the light so that the politicians can play with the lines, so that even if you overcome those barriers and show up-

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yes–

SEN. WARNOCK: –your words will be silenced.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, it sounds like you want to go back to the law from 1965, you want Congress to, again, restore the authorization of these southern states. That’s what I just heard you put out.

SEN. WARNOCK: Yes, that was true–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay–

SEN. WARNOCK: — definitely.

Margaret Brennan People will look at that and say, we’re in a different world than we are, as–as Roberts once argued, as you just pointed out. Now that we’re in this arms race that both teams are playing here, do you think that’s going to hurt Black representation?

SEN. WARNOCK: I think the court has unfortunately added fuel to this redistricting arms race. The solution to this is really–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Just to be clear, you–

SEN. WARNOCK: –in my opinion–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –support the redistricting that your party is doing.

SEN. WARNOCK: I- I do because Donald Trump, who is better at dividing us than anyone I know, has created an arms race in redistricting, but I actually hate party hacking. A-I don’t like gerrymandering, but we couldn’t disarm independently. He was the one who called Texas and said, literally, give me six more seats. And then, California and other states had to respond, Virginia in kind. But the solution to this really is to shut down group hacking. Gerrymandering turns our elections on their head, so that instead of people electing their politicians-

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right–

SEN. WARNOCK: –or their civil servants, politicians choose their voters.

MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s right, that’s why I’m asking you how you can support it. But I understand that you are saying that the context of this time is an emergency. Let me ask you–

SEN. WARNOCK: Well, we can- I have a debt, Margaret, I have a debt.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I saw that bill, yes.

SEN. WARNOCK: — right now that would end that would end the partisan abuse, and so far, I’ve never had Republicans.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, as we just said, your party supports redistricting in places like California and Virginia. Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida said that Democrats do not care about black representation. They only care about Democrat representation. This is what Congressman Wesley Hunt of Texas said when he was asked about the decision of four Black Republicans to leave Congress.

[REP. WESLEY HUNT SOT STARTS]

REP. WESLEY HUNT: I ​​represent a majority white district that President Trump would have won by more than 20 points, and I won by 25 points the last time I ran. They cannot be judged by the color of my skin, but by the content of my character. I don’t care how many Black people are here. I’m looking for the most qualified people here.

[REP. WESLEY HUNT SOT ENDS ]

MARGARET BRENNAN: So what do you make of the argument you just heard from Congressman Hunt.

SEN. WARNOCK: He doesn’t understand American history. No one – quotes Dr. King. No one was more devoted to a country that welcomes us all than Dr. King. But Dr. King, looking at that fact, is the moral force behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our agreement as Americans is E pluribus unum, one out of many. So this idea that representation doesn’t matter ignores history, ignores facts, is ignorant. Representation matters. When I go to the Senate, every week, I bring my story and my experience as a black child who grew up in public housing in Savannah, as well as that white child who grew up in Appalachia. He also brings his knowledge. And so when we- when we create a growing monolith, which is what I think will happen because of these- this decision this week, we damage democracy itself, and we make it difficult to find policies that include all our children and give every child a chance.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, thank you for your time this morning. And I want to note, since that Supreme Court decision, the governors of Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee have all expressed interest in redrawing congressional maps.

SEN. WARNOCK: Yes. And we can end this right now by passing my bill.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Senator, we’ll leave it at that. We will be right back.