Virginia Democrats file motion with state’s supreme court to stay recent decision rejecting voter-approved congressional maps
Virginia Democrats have filed a motion with the state’s supreme court to stay a recent decision that rejected voter-approved congressional maps, the Virginia Scope first reported.
The motion, submitted by Virginia politician Don Scott, who is speaker of the Virginia house of delegates, paves the way for a likely appeal to Friday’s ruling.
“On May 8 2026, this Court issued its decision in this case. Appellants and the Commonwealth intend to file an Emergency Petition to the Supreme Court of the United States,” court documents read.
Key events
Summary
That’s it for today’s politics blog. Here’s what happened so far:
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The US Southern Command fatally struck a boat in the Eastern Pacific, claiming that the vessel was being operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” without additional evidence, according to an update posted to X. At least two people were killed and another person injured during Friday’s military action, read the update.
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US Transportation secretary Sean Duffy criss-crossed the nation in a van with his family and filmed for a reality show, which aired on Fox News. Speaking to the network, Duffy said the trip was inspired by the 250th anniversary of American independence. He praised the quality time spent with family.
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US Transportation secretary Sean Duffy’s road trip and subsequent reality television show debut has garnered criticism. Chasten Buttigieg, husband of former Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, lambasted Duffy in a post to X.
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A panel of judges in Alabama rejected a request for a stay after Republican lawmakers in the state passed a bill that would allow for new US primaries if a redrawn congressional map is approved. The three-judge panel ruled that they did not have jurisdiction over the case as it is being appealed at the US Supreme court.
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Donald Trump’s administration is quietly pushing national park, refuge and wilderness area managers to dramatically scale back hunting restrictions, raising questions about visitor safety and the impact on wildlife.
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US Transportation secretary Sean Duffy’s road trip and subsequent reality television show debut has garnered criticism.
Chasten Buttigieg, husband of former Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, lambasted Duffy in a post to X.
Chasten wrote that Duffy previously “threw endless fits on national television when Pete was working from our son’s ICU bedside” and is now bragging about taking the “multi-month, taxpayer-funded family road trip” as gas prices skyrocket nation wide.
“How much more unfocused, unserious, and out of touch can you be?,” Chasten said.
Duffy has repeatedly criticized Buttigieg for being a “no show” transportation secretary. In a post last November, Duffy accused Buttigieg of being “basically AWOL at the [Department of Transportation].” “I spend my whole day dealing with your neglect and cleaning up your messes,” he added.
The US Southern Command fatally struck a boat in the Eastern Pacific, claiming that the vessel was being operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” without additional evidence, according to an update posted to X.
At least two people were killed and another person injured during Friday’s military action, read the update. The Command alleged that the struck boat was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes” and “engaged in narco-trafficking operations”. No US military officials were harmed in Friday’s strike.
Friday’s military action comes after three people were killed in a boat strike on Tuesday. The US military similarly claimed that the boat was being operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” sans evidence to back up said claim.
Uwa Ede-Osifo
In recent months, the transportation sector has weathered various crises.
A partial government shutdown led to a DHS funding lapse, which in turn caused TSA agents to quit in droves. Travelers waited in long lines due to the staffing shortage.
New York City’s LaGuardia airport saw its first deadly crash in over 30 years after an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck. The pilots of the Air Canada aircraft were killed.
Meanwhile, dominating headlines has been the spike in gas and jet fuel prices, as the US-Israel war with Iran continues to disrupt the oil industry.
In the same time span, US Transportation secretary Sean Duffy criss-crossed the nation in a van with his family for a hearty, wholesome road trip.
A clip of the journey, which was filmed for a reality TV program, aired on Fox News. Speaking to the network, Duffy said the trip was inspired by the 250th anniversary of American independence. He praised the quality time spent with family.
Along the way, he said, he also got “some work” done.
A panel of judges in Alabama have rejected a request for a stay after Republican lawmakers in the state passed a bill that would allow for new US primaries if a redrawn congressional map is approved.
Kyle Whitmire with Al.com shared the update in a post to X. The three-judge panel ruled that they did not have jurisdiction over the case as it is being appealed at the US Supreme court.
“Quite simply, we do not have the authority to issue an order that upends Alabama’s status quo, especially in the middle of an election, while our injunction establishing that status quo is well under review in the nation’s highest court.”
Donald Trump ostensibly issued a Mother’s Day message on his Truth Social platform, though his post was more to tout last month’s stronger-than-expected US job gains.
“Happy Mother’s Day weekend to all, especially to the 115 THOUSAND AMERICANS who found jobs in the month of April alone!” the president wrote, to no mothers in particular. “Despite the best efforts of Jerome “Too Late and Won’t Leave” Powell, and the America Hating Democrat Party, more Americans are working today than ever before.”
Utah supreme court justice Diana Hagen resigned her position on Friday amid an investigation into allegations that she had an improper relationship with an attorney working a case before the state’s highest court, reports the Salt Lake Tribune.
In her resignation letter to Utah governor Spencer Cox, Hagen wrote: “As a public servant for twenty-six years, I am keenly aware that public service requires sacrifice. I have willingly accepted those sacrifices for the privilege of holding a position of public trust, where I could do my part to uphold the rule of law and protect the constitutional rights of every Utahn.
“I also understand that public officials are rightly held to a higher standard and must accept a greater degree of public scrutiny and diminished privacy. But my family and friends did not choose public life. They do not deserve to have intensely personal details surrounding the painful dissolution of my thirty-year marriage subjected to public scrutiny.”
Hagen was under pressure as Republican leaders including Cox, house speaker Mike Schultz and senate president J Stuart Adams had last month announced an investigation into the allegations. The judicial conduct commission said the allegations had “very little credibility”.
Trump administration pushes national park managers to scale back hunting restrictions
Donald Trump’s administration is quietly pushing national park, refuge and wilderness area managers to dramatically scale back hunting restrictions, raising questions about visitor safety and the impact on wildlife.
Doug Burgum, interior secretary, issued an order in January directing multiple agencies to remove what he termed “unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers” to hunting and fishing and justify regulations they want to keep in place, reports AP.
“Expanding opportunities for the public to hunt and fish on Department-managed lands not only strengthens conservation outcomes, but also supports rural economies, public health, and access to America’s outdoor spaces,” Burgum wrote. “The Department’s policy is clear: public and federally managed lands should be open to hunting and fishing unless a specific, documented, and legally supported exception applies.”
The order applies to 55 sites in the lower 48 states under the National Park Service’s jurisdiction, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. Various locations have already lifted prohibitions on hunting stands that damage trees and training hunting dogs, using vehicles to retrieve animals and hunting along trails, according to an NPCA review of site regulations.
Hunting is currently allowed across about 51m acres belonging to the National Park Service spanning 76 sites, although only about 8m of those acres lie in the contiguous United States with the rest in Alaska, according to the NPS website. Fishing is allowed in 213 sites. NPS sites typically adopt state hunting and fishing regulations, although they can impose restrictions that go beyond them to protect public safety and wildlife resources, such as prohibiting shooting along a trail or near buildings.
Dan Wenk, a former Yellowstone national park superintendent and NPS deputy operations director, said park managers established their regulations by talking with stakeholders and, as a result, most of the restrictions have been widely accepted. He said it makes no sense for the Trump administration to upend that structure without substantial public discussion.
“Process never seems to stand in the way of many things with this administration,” Wenk said. “This was never a big issue. I’d love to know the problem we’re trying to solve. Then I could understand the costs that it’s going to take to solve it in terms of resources and visitor safety.”
Interior department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said in an email that the order was a “commonsense approach to public land management” and promised that any closures or limits needed for public safety, resource protection or legal compliance will remain in place.
Virginia Democrats file motion with state’s supreme court to stay recent decision rejecting voter-approved congressional maps
Virginia Democrats have filed a motion with the state’s supreme court to stay a recent decision that rejected voter-approved congressional maps, the Virginia Scope first reported.
The motion, submitted by Virginia politician Don Scott, who is speaker of the Virginia house of delegates, paves the way for a likely appeal to Friday’s ruling.
“On May 8 2026, this Court issued its decision in this case. Appellants and the Commonwealth intend to file an Emergency Petition to the Supreme Court of the United States,” court documents read.
More Democratic leaders have pledged to fight against the Virginia supreme court decision and broader attempts to redraw congressional districts. The political committees of several House democrat caucuses promised to “use every tool at our disposal to fight back against this decision”, in a joint statement.
Chairs of the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, the Congressional Black Caucus Pac, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Bold Pac, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Pac, Elect Democratic Women, and Equality Pac denounced the Virginia decision.
“Maga Republicans continue to cut undemocratic, unconstitutional, backroom deals with the help of their hand-picked judges, who are handing down baseless rulings from the bench,” the statement read.
The statement also called out Republican lawmakers in Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas leading redistricting efforts that are “maliciously disenfranchising millions of Americans overnight against the will of the people”.
“We will not sit idly by as Republicans dismantle the progress that generations of Americans fought and died to deliver. We will use every tool at our disposal to fight back against this decision and every insidious effort to strip Americans of their fundamental freedoms.”
Democratic representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas’s 30th district, also criticized the Virginia supreme court decision, in a scathing post to X.
Crockett called the rejection of voter-approved maps in Virginia “voter suppression”.
“They keep losing when people actually vote, so instead of changing their policies, they keep trying to silence the voices of the people,” wrote Crockett, referring to Republicans.
Texas notably redrew its congressional maps in 2025 to add more Republican seats, a move that faced legal challenges but was later approved by the US supreme court.
Representative Terri A Sewell for Alabama’s seventh district, blasted attempts from Alabama legislators to potentially hold new US House primaries if redrawn congressional maps are allowed.
“Black voters make up nearly one-third of Alabama’s electorate,” said Sewell during an NPR interview. “What state lawmakers are doing is trying to dilute the power of Alabama Black voters, silence their voices, and eliminate their ability to elect congressional and state leaders of their choice.”
Sewell added: “This is not about party politics. It’s about whether Black Alabamians have a seat at the table or whether they will let state lawmakers take us back to the Jim Crow era.”
Alabama governor Kay Ivey has signed the passed plan, House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, which would allow for new US House primaries to occur if redistricting maps are approved by the courts.
In a statement following the bill’s signing, Ivey said that “Alabama now stands ready to quickly act, should the courts issue favorable rulings in our ongoing redistricting cases.”
Read the full statement here.
