The National Republican Senatorial Committee is calling on embattled Democrats to speak out against President Joe Biden's condemnation of the Supreme Court's decision ending the decadeslong practice known as affirmative action.
The high court ruled 6-3 on Thursday in favor of banning the consideration of race as part of admissions decisions at colleges, including Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the six-member majority, effectively undoing the landmark 1978 case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which upheld race-conscious admissions at universities.
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Most Democrats have been quick to decry the ruling, while a majority of Republicans have celebrated it. A number of the most embattled Democrats, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), have yet to react to the decision.
"Democrats are doubling down on their racist agenda and want to pack the Supreme Court to get their way," NRSC spokesman Philip Letsou said in a statement Thursday. "Will Democrats like Joe Manchin, Jon Tester, and Sherrod Brown denounce Joe Biden’s support of racial discrimination and state unequivocally that they oppose packing the court?”
The NRSC also condemned Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), whom the organization claimed "immediately attacked the Supreme Court and called for race-based college admissions to be reinstated" with their initial reactions to the ruling.
Biden said from the White House on Thursday that "the court once again walked away from decades of precedent. The court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions, and I strongly, strongly disagree with the court's decision."
Biden emphasized that affirmative action did not mean unqualified applicants were being admitted and encouraged colleges and higher education institutions to continue considering "the adversity a student has overcome." He repeated that racism exists in the country.
"I believe our colleges are stronger when they're racially diverse," Biden said. "We cannot let this decision be the last word."
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Schumer, meanwhile, denounced the decision as a "giant roadblock" to achieving racial justice in the United States.
“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,” Schumer said in a statement. “These negative consequences could continue for generations, as the historic harms of exclusion and discrimination in education and society are exacerbated.”