By Anita Wadhwani | Senior Reporter
Good morning, Lookout readers:
A legal effort to stop Tennessee’s redrawn congressional map from taking effect before the August primaries failed Thursday as a panel of federal judges denied an injunction sought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Tennessee’s newly drawn congressional map splits majority-Black, majority-Democratic Memphis into three U.S. House districts. The ACLU, which filed suit on behalf of several Memphis clergy members, nonprofit organizations and voters, argued the redistricting process was intended to dilute the votes of Black people.
Cassandra Stephenson reports that the three-judge panel rejected the argument, ruling that the court presumed lawmakers acted in good faith and the lawsuit failed to demonstrate racial discrimination was a “substantial” or “motivating factor.”
“The road to a reliably 9-0 map runs through Memphis,” the judges’ opinion states. “Thus, political motivations readily explain the map’s dilutive effects.”
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
State Sen. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat, holds a photo of the new U.S. House map passed by Tennessee Republicans during a special legislative session in May. (Photo by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Federal court denies restraining order in ACLU lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new congressional map
by Cassandra Stephenson
A panel of federal judges on Thursday denied an injunction aiming to stop Tennessee’s redrawn congressional map from going into effect before the August primary election, though early voting has already begun. The lawsuit alleges lawmakers drew the map to dilute the votes of Black people, while lawmakers said they drew the map to give Republicans the advantage in all nine of Tennessee’s congressional districts.
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FEATURED ON THE LOOKOUT
Bystanders face ICE agents during an April 29, 2026, raid at an apartment complex in Antioch, Tennessee, that resulted in one arrest. (Photo by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Anita Wadhwani
The ACLU and National Immigration Law Center have renewed their challenge to a Tennessee law making illegal immigration a state crime after a federal judge dismissed a nearly identical lawsuit last month.
In their second lawsuit, filed July 17, the civil right groups are seeking an immediate and permanent halt to legislation that creates a misdemeanor crime for immigrants to remain in Tennessee more than 90 days after receiving a final removal order from an immigration judge.
State Sen. Brent Taylor reported owning between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of stock in three companies connected to China, two of which are designated by the Pentagon as “Chinese military companies.” (Photo by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
NEWS ANALYSIS
by Sam Stockard
Tennessee Sen. Brent Taylor held Chinese military stocks as part of his investment portfolio even though he says President Donald Trump endorsed him in the Republican primary for the 9th Congressional District seat because he’ll be tough on China. Taylor reported owning between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of stock in three companies connected to China, two of which are designated by the Pentagon as “Chinese military companies.”
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