SCOTUS Just Wiped Out Bennie Thompson’s District and Mississippi Is Moving Fast

May 17, 2026 Cat2, Politics
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Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger handed Bennie Thompson a weapon – and now the Supreme Court just took it away.

The same court that gave Trump his biggest legal vindications just torched the race-based congressional map that kept Thompson in power for 33 years.

Mississippi Republicans meet May 20th, and Thompson's career ends when they do.

The Ruling That Changed Everything

The Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais didn't just make headlines – it rewrote the map of congressional power across the South.

The ruling declared that congressional districts drawn on the basis of race are unconstitutional.

Thompson's Second Congressional District – a gerrymandered ribbon running the full length of Mississippi's western border – was built on exactly that foundation.

Now the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the lower court ruling that protected it.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves didn't mince words.

"The 5th Circuit just vacated the liability order in our judicial redistricting case," Reeves posted on X. "A good day for those who believe in the principle that all Americans are created equal. A good day for law and order. A good day for Mississippi."

The legislature has a 2022 redistricting map ready to adopt – one that would break Thompson's artificial district into compact, race-neutral seats.

The J6 Chairman Who Built His Career on a Rigged Map

Thompson has held his seat since a 1993 special election – 33 years propped up by a district drawn with his race in mind, not his constituents' interests.

He co-chaired Nancy Pelosi's January 6th Select Committee – the one Pelosi hand-picked to destroy Donald Trump.

That was the same committee that barred Jim Jordan and Jim Banks from serving because they would have demanded answers about why up to 20,000 National Guard troops offered by the Trump Pentagon were never deployed ahead of the protest.

The only Republicans Pelosi allowed anywhere near it were Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – Cheney lost her primary in 2022, Kinzinger didn't bother running again.

Thompson carried Pelosi's water for every minute of it.

Now the legal foundation his entire career rested on has collapsed.

When Thompson was asked about the redistricting threat, he deflected: "All of these districts were drawn by Republicans and approved by Republican legislatures."

He conveniently skipped the part where those Republicans were court-ordered to draw race-based maps under old Voting Rights Act precedent that the Supreme Court just swept aside.

Democrats Built the Rigged System They're Now Crying About

Democrats screaming about Thompson's district need to answer for California.

Fifty-four congressional districts. Democrats hold 42. Republicans hold 8 – including one independent who caucuses with the GOP.

Trump won 38 percent of California's vote in 2024 – running against the state's own former senator – and Republicans are on track to hold just 3 seats after the Supreme Court cleared California's new map in February.

That's 6 percent of the seats for 38 percent of the vote.

Thompson built his career inside the exact same system – race-based maps, litigation-protected seats, rules that only applied when Democrats needed them.

That's called the game. And the Supreme Court just changed it.

The Clock Is Running for Thompson

The legislature convenes next week with a clear legal path and a map ready to go.

Thirty-three years of an artificially maintained congressional seat is about to get erased.

Thompson helped weaponize Congress against Donald Trump and his voters.

The Supreme Court just handed Mississippi Republicans everything they need to make sure he never does it again.

Sources:

  • Randy DeSoto, "Chair of Sham J6 Committee May Lose His Seat as 6th Red State Begins Emergency Redistricting," The Western Journal, May 13, 2026.
  • "Mississippi Redistricting Advances After 5th Circuit Ruling," Magnolia Tribune, May 2026.
  • Governor Tate Reeves, post on X, May 2026.