Supreme Court sides with New York Republican in congressional redistricting fight

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Republican representative from New York challenging a congressional redistricting effort in a decision she said “helps restore the public’s confidence in our judicial system.” 

Over the dissent of the court’s three liberal justices, the conservative majority halted a state court ruling that had ordered New York’s redistricting commission to redraw the district held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., that covers Staten Island and a small piece of Brooklyn. A judge had ruled that the district was drawn in a way that dilutes the power of its Black and Hispanic voters and had instructed the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to complete a new map. 

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to keep New York’s 11th Congressional District intact helps restore the public’s confidence in our judicial system and proves the challenge to our district lines was always meritless. The plaintiffs in this case attempted to manipulate our state’s courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “That was wrong and, as demonstrated by today’s ruling, clearly unconstitutional.” 

“Unfortunately, the politicization of New York’s courts and its judges necessitated action from the nation’s highest court. I thank the Justices who stopped the voters on Staten Island and in Southern Brooklyn from being stripped of their ability to elect a representative who reflects their values,” she added. “Whether I serve another term in Congress is a decision for the voters, not Democrat party bosses and their high-priced lawyers.”

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In October 2025, New York voters sued state election officials in the Supreme Court of New York, the state’s trial court, to challenge the district’s lines. Malliotakis intervened to defend the current map. 

A law firm affiliated with Democrats had argued that the Staten Island district should be reshaped by cutting out the small section in Brooklyn and replacing it with a chunk of Lower Manhattan. The swap would have taken some Republican-leaning neighborhoods out of the district and replaced them with areas where President Donald Trump lost to former Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 50 points in 2024. 

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While a state judge declined to impose the map they requested, he ruled a change was needed to give more voting power to the growing population of Black and Hispanic residents on Staten Island. 

The judge left the decision on how to redraw the state’s congressional maps to New York’s bipartisan redistricting commission, which had yet to produce any proposals.

The Supreme Court did not explain the rationale for its decision Monday, but Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the judge’s ruling under New York’s constitution amounted to “unadorned racial discrimination” in violation of the U.S. Constitution, according to The Associated Press. 

Fox News’ Bill Mears, Shannon Bream, Maria Paronich and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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