Biden condemns ruling against race-conscious admissions: ‘This is not a normal court’ – live

Joe Biden has said the supreme court has “gone out of its way” to “unravel basic rights” following its ruling on Thursday to strike down affirmative action programs at the University of North Carolina and Harvard.

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In an interview on MSNBC, Biden was asked what he meant at a press conference earlier today when he said the supreme court was “not a normal court”. He said:

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What I meant by that is it has done more to unravel basic rights and basic decisions than any court in recent history.

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He said he found this court “so out of sorts with the basic value system of the American people”.

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Across the board, the vast majority of American people don’t agree with a lot of the decisions this court has made.

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Biden said that although he believes the conservative majority on the court “may do too much harm”, he opposes expanding the court because it will “politicize the court forever in a way that is not healthy”.

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Joe Biden will in a few minutes appear from MSNBC’s New York City studios for a live interview with anchor Nicolle Wallace.

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While Biden often responds to questions from reporters as he comes and goes from the White House or at the tail end of his speeches, he has done few press conferences compared with his recent predecessors, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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Follow along here as the Guardian’s Léonie Chao-Fong covers the interview live.

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A judge has turned down Donald Trump’s attempt to dismiss the advice columnist E Jean Carroll’s original defamation lawsuit against him, and rejected his defense that presidential immunity protects him from being liable for statements he made in 2019 that Carroll claims were defamatory, Reuters reports.

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In May, a jury in a civil trial found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and ordered him to pay $5m in compensatory and punitive damages. Carroll filed an amended complaint against the former president after he made disparaging remarks against her at a CNN town hall the following night. This week, Trump filed his own defamation lawsuit against Carroll, alleging she falsely accused him of rape.

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Vice-president Kamala Harris has also spoken out against the supreme court’s ruling today striking down race-conscious college admissions.

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“Today’s supreme court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina is a step backward for our nation. It rolls back long-established precedent and will make it more difficult for students from underrepresented backgrounds to have access to opportunities that will help them fulfill their full potential,” said Harris, who is the first woman, as well as the first person of African American and south Asian heritage to occupy the vice-president’s office.

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As California’s attorney general in 2015, Harris filed a friend of the court brief in Fisher v University of Texas, a case in which the court generally upheld race-based admissions policies.

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You can read Harris’s full statement here.

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The end of affirmative action at those state levels shows just how impactful the consideration of race in admissions has been: a UC Berkeley study found that after the ban in California, the number of applicants of color in the UC system “sharply shifted away from UC’s most selective Berkeley and UCLA campuses, causing a cascade of students to enroll at lower-quality public institutions and some private universities”. Specifically, the number of Black freshmen admitted to UC Berkeley dropped to 3.6% between 2006 and 2010 – almost half of its population before the ban.

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In an amicus brief in the Harvard case, attorneys for the University of Michigan, which had to stop considering race in admissions in 2006, argued that despite “persistent, vigorous and varied efforts” to achieve diversity, it has struggled to do so without race-consciousness. The number of Black and Native American students has “dramatically” dropped since the end of affirmative action in the state.

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Though students of color remain underrepresented at selective colleges and universities today, institutions argue that their presence helps shape students’ on-campus experiences. The removal of race consideration from college admissions could set a precedent for a less diverse school system, which stands in stark contrast to an increasingly diverse world.

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After generations of near total exclusion of Black students and other students of color, colleges and universities began admitting more diverse groups in the 1960s and 70s, and soon thereafter incorporated race-consciousness into their admissions policies.

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Data shows that the rise of affirmative action policies in higher education has bolstered diversity on college campuses.

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In 1965, Black students accounted for roughly 5% of all undergraduates. And between 1965 and 2001, the percentage of Black undergraduates doubled. The number of Latino undergraduates also rose during that time.

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Still, the practice of factoring race into the admissions process faced repeated attacks. In 1998, during an era of conservatism, California voters approved Proposition 209, which outlawed affirmative action in any state or government agency, including its university system. Since then, eight more states have eliminated such race-conscious policies.

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The concept of affirmative action originated in 1961 when President John F Kennedy issued an executive order directing government agencies to ensure that all Americans get an equal opportunity in employment. President Lyndon Johnson took it one step further in 1965, barring public and private organizations that had a federal contract from discriminating based on race, color, religion and national origin. The prohibition was added to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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In 1969, President Richard Nixon’s assistant labor secretary, Arthur Fletcher, who would eventually be known as the “father of affirmative action”, pushed for requiring employers to set “goals and timetables” to hire more Black workers. That effort, known as the Revised Philadelphia Plan, would later influence how many schools approached their own race-conscious admissions programs.

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The practice was challenged when Allan Bakke, a white man who was twice denied entry to the medical school at the University of California at Davis, sued the university, arguing that its policies, which included allocating seats for “qualified” students of color, discriminated against him. In 1978, the supreme court narrowly rejected the use of “racial quotas”, but noted that colleges and universities could use race as a factor in the admissions process. Justice Lewis Powell noted that achieving diversity represented a “compelling government interest”.

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Days after giving democracy advocates an unexpected win by rejecting a fringe legal theory that could have transformed federal elections, the supreme court’s conservative majority flexed its muscles by ruling against race-based admissions programs at two universities. Their opinion puts at risk affirmative action programs at colleges nationwide, and drew a strong rebuke from Joe Biden, who called on institutions of higher education not to retreat from the cause of diversity. He also said the current supreme court “is not a normal court” – but declined to say what he would do about it.

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Here’s more about what has happened today so far:

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• The supreme court will issue more decisions on Friday.

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• Republican presidential candidates cheered the court’s ruling against race-based admissions, with Donald Trump attempting to take a particularly large share of credit.

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• Barack and Michelle Obama spoke out against the court’s ruling, with the former first lady sharing a lengthy statement regarding her experience with affirmative action.

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At the conclusion of his address where he forcefully condemned the ruling by conservative supreme court justices against race-based college admissions, a reporter asked Joe Biden if he agrees with the Congressional Black Caucus that the ruling “has thrown into question (the court’s) own legitimacy”.

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“This is not a normal court,” Biden replied. He did not respond when asked if he supported term limits for supreme court justices.

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Speaking at the White House, Joe Biden condemned the supreme court’s conservative justices for their decision released today against race-based admissions.

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“In case after case, including recently, just a few years ago in 2016, the court has affirmed and reaffirmed this view that colleges could use race, not as a determining factor for admission, but as one of the factors among many in deciding who to admit,” the president said, adding that “the court once again walked away from decades of precedent.”

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“The court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions and I strongly, strongly disagree with the court’s decision,” he said.

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Joe Biden will in a few minutes give an address from the White House on the supreme court’s decision today against race-conscious admissions at universities.

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Follow along here for the latest.

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Joe Biden has been looking into using executive orders to respond to the supreme court’s decision against affirmative action, Reuters reports, citing a source familiar.

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The president has in recent weeks been anticipating the sort of decision handed down by the court’s conservative majority today, which appears set to prevent universities from taking race into account in college admissions.

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Biden is scheduled to address the ruling in a speech at 12.30pm from the White House.

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The supreme court has announced that it will release more opinions on Friday 30 June. It’s likely it will announce decisions in all three cases remaining from this term, but we won’t know for sure until tomorrow.

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Among the matters they have left to decide are conservative challenges to Joe Biden’s plan to relieve some federal student loan debt, and a case over whether businesses are allowed to turn down customers from the LGBTQ+ community.

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Former president Barack Obama has now weighed in on the supreme court’s ruling against affirmative action.

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Here are his thoughts, in the form of a reply to his wife Michelle Obama’s much lengthier statement:

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Affirmative action was never a complete answer in the drive towards a more just society. But for generations of students who had been systematically excluded from most of America’s key institutions—it gave us the chance to show we more than deserved a seat at the table.

In the… https://t.co/Kr0ODATEq3

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 29, 2023

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Joe Biden will at 12.30pm eastern time speak from the White House about the supreme court’s decision overturning race-conscious admissions policies, his press office announced.

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Keep it tuned to this blog, where we’ll cover the address as it happens.

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The conservative-authored supreme court decision today striking down race-based admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina is effectively the death knell for affirmative action at colleges nationwide, experts say.

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Those two schools are among dozens nationwide who consider an applicant’s race as part of their admissions process, with the goal of diversifying their student bodies. But opponents have long claimed the practice amounts to racial discrimination, and after hearing the cases brought by conservative activist group Students for Fair Admissions, the supreme court found in its decision that Harvard and UNC’s policies discriminated against Asian-American applicants and violated the constitution’s equal protection clause.

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In their ruling, the court didn’t outright ban affirmative action, but rather created a test for its continued use that no institution can pass, said Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin:

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In a nutshell: The majority does not expressly overrule Grutter or formally bar *all* race-based affirmative action, but the Court reconstrues the test in a way that will make it virtually impossible for any university to satisfy going forward.

It’s ending it without ending it. https://t.co/TYXvmQuHec

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) June 29, 2023

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But the ban does not affect all institutions of higher education in the United States. As Anthony Michael Kreis of the Georgia State University law college notes, the conservatives appear to have specifically allowed affirmative action to continue at military academies:

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The majority de facto exempts West Point, Annapolis, and the other military academies from today’s affirmative action decision in a quaint little footnote. pic.twitter.com/2sx5fzs4Vh

— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) June 29, 2023

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The supreme court’s ruling against affirmative action in college admissions is a blow to the university aspirations of students of color, the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

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Here’s his full statement:

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The supreme court ruling has put a giant roadblock in our country’s march toward racial justice. The consequences of this decision will be felt immediately and across the country, as students of color will face an admission cycle next year with fewer opportunities to attend the same colleges and universities than their parents and older siblings. These negative consequences could continue for generations, as the historic harms of exclusion and discrimination in education and society are exacerbated.

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The court’s misguided decision reminds us how far we still have to go to ensure that all Americans are treated equally. Nevertheless, we will not be daunted or deterred by this decision and we reaffirm our commitment to fighting for equal educational opportunities for all.

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Republicans vying for the presidential nomination next year were quick to issue statements applauding the ruling against affirmative action by the supreme court’s conservative majority.

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Here’s former vice-president Mike Pence:

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There is no place for discrimination based on race in the United States, and I am pleased that the supreme court has put an end to this egregious violation of civil and constitutional rights in admissions processes, which only served to perpetuate racism. I am honored to have played a role in appointing three of the justices that ensured today’s welcomed decision, and as president I will continue to appoint judges who will strictly apply the law rather than twisting it to serve woke and progressive ends.

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And Nikki Haley, the ambassador to the United Nations under Donald Trump:

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The world admires America because we value freedom and opportunity. The supreme court reaffirmed those values today. Picking winners and losers based on race is fundamentally wrong. This decision will help every student – no matter their background – have a better opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

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The conservative-dominated supreme court has just ruled against race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, in a decision with major implications for affirmative action.

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The nation’s highest court will issue another batch of opinions in just a few minutes, and with seven cases from its current term left to decide, it’s possible the conservative-dominated bench will weigh in on Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, race-conscious admissions in universities and LGTBQ+ rights.

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Follow along here for more as the decisions are released.

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The supreme court has seven decisions left to release, and as always, there’s no telling which will come today. If they don’t release all of them, they will have another opportunity on Friday. Sure, they could issue all of them today, but the court has lately made public somewhere around two to four opinions at a time, so don’t be surprised if we find ourselves once again watching the nation’s highest court at the same time tomorrow.

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Nonetheless, it’s possible the court will, starting at 10am, decide several weighty matters before it with implications for the entire country. Here are three of the biggest cases they have yet to decide:

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• The court is considering a challenge to race-conscious admissions at universities. Proponents of the practice say it has helped schools admit more students of color and diversify their classes, while opponents equate it to racial discrimination.

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• Several Republican-led states have sued over Joe Biden’s plan to relieve some federal student loan debt. The supreme court kept the program blocked while considering the challenges against it, and could kill it for good with a ruling.

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• The justices could weigh in on the case of Lorie Smith, a Colorado web designer who says her religious beliefs prevent her from making websites for same-sex couples. LGTBQ+ advocates fear a ruling in her favor could open up new avenues of discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people.

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Good morning, US politics blog readers. The supreme court is issuing another batch of decisions at 10am ET, and today could be the day that the court’s conservative majority flexes its muscles. The opinions released in the court’s term thus far have come as a relief to progressives, with the justices declining to endorse a fringe legal theory that could have upended election rules nationwide, and also maintaining part of the Voting Rights Acts in a decision that may help Democrats regain the majority in the House of Representatives next year.

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But they still have not ruled on pending cases concerning race-conscious university admissions, Joe Biden’s program to relieve some federal student loan debt and the ability of businesses to refuse to work with the LGBTQ+ community, and in these matters, the conservatives who hold six of the court’s nine seats could issue opinions with impacts nationwide – as they did last year by overturning Roe v Wade, and expanding the ability to carry a concealed weapon, among other decisions.

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Here’s what else is happening today:

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• Biden is heading to New York City where, besides participating in a fundraiser, he will give a live television interview on MSNBC at 4pm.

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• Congressional leaders announced this morning that Israel’s president Isaac Herzog will address a joint session of the House and Senate on 19 July.

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• Election gurus at the University of Virginia Center for Politics released an early analysis of the balance of power ahead of 2024, and find a close race between the two party’s presidential nominees.

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There are “still a lot of really good Republicans” in the Senate, Joe Biden said during his interview on MSNBC.

Biden said that six Republican senators have come to him since he was elected “to tell me, ‘Joe, I agree with you but if I’m seen doing it, I’ll lose a primary’”. He added:

I’m an eternal optimist. I still think there’s going to come a moment when they’re going to be able to break.

During his interview on MSNBC, Joe Biden admitted he knew his polling numbers “are not good” but argued that “they were the same way when I ran and won”.

Biden said he had “great faith” in the American people and that it was “important that they know that my value set is very different than the new Maga Republican party”.

He added:

Everybody thought I was gonna get clobbered in the primary. I got 80 million votes in the last election.

Here’s the clip:

Joe Biden refused to say whether he knew ahead of time about Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to march on Moscow.

“Every president is amazed that America is the lead in the world”, he told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace.

He said he had focused on holding Nato together and on expanding the alliance to make sure that “the most significant invasion since world war two does not succeed”.

In an interview on MSNBC, Joe Biden was asked about a report that said senior officials at the justice department resisted investigating the possible involvement of Donald Trump and his associates in the January 6 Capitol attack.

Biden said he had made a commitment that he would “not in any way interfere” with the justice department, adding that he had “not spoken one single time with the attorney general on any specific case”.

He said he had “faith that the justice department will move in a direction that is consistent with the law”.

Joe Biden has said the supreme court has “gone out of its way” to “unravel basic rights” following its ruling on Thursday to strike down affirmative action programs at the University of North Carolina and Harvard.

In an interview on MSNBC, Biden was asked what he meant at a press conference earlier today when he said the supreme court was “not a normal court”. He said:

What I meant by that is it has done more to unravel basic rights and basic decisions than any court in recent history.

He said he found this court “so out of sorts with the basic value system of the American people”.

Across the board, the vast majority of American people don’t agree with a lot of the decisions this court has made.

Biden said that although he believes the conservative majority on the court “may do too much harm”, he opposes expanding the court because it will “politicize the court forever in a way that is not healthy”.

Biden says he knows his polling numbers “are not good”, but argues that “they were the same way when I ran”.

Everybody thought I was going to get clobbered in a primary.

Biden says he’s “not spoken one single time” with the attorney general “on any specific case”.

Biden says he thinks if we start the process of trying to expand the court “we’re going to politicize it in a way that’s not healthy”.

Biden says he thinks it’s a “mistake” to expand the court. He says:

What I’ve done is I have appointed 136 judges, and … I picked people who are from various backgrounds.

We’ve appointed more women to the appellate courts, Black women to the appellate courts, than every other president in American history.

Biden says the vast majority of American people don’t agree with the supreme court’s ruling.

He says it “finds it so out of sorts with the basic value system of the American people”.

Biden is asked what he meant when he said earlier today that the supreme court is “not a normal court”.

Biden says the court has “done more to unravel basic rights and basic decisions than any court”, pointing to its ruling last year to overturn Roe v Wade.

Joe Biden will in a few minutes appear from MSNBC’s New York City studios for a live interview with anchor Nicolle Wallace.

While Biden often responds to questions from reporters as he comes and goes from the White House or at the tail end of his speeches, he has done few press conferences compared with his recent predecessors, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Follow along here as the Guardian’s Léonie Chao-Fong covers the interview live.