House Republicans Applaud SCOTUS Decision: In America, Success Must Be ‘Judged by Merit’

Congressional Republicans celebrated the Supreme Court’s rejection of racial preferences in college admissions on Thursday, applauding the court’s decision as a win for “fairness and merit.”

House Education Committee chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said in a statement, “In America, fairness is the key to educational opportunity, where one’s success is judged by merit rather than arbitrary quotas.”

Foxx also lamented that college admissions had been “plagued by affirmative action for far too long” and noted that she and others and Congress would be able to “craft solutions that build on the idea of fairness” in light of Thursday’s decision.

🚨 @virginiafoxx's statement in response to SCOTUS overturning affirmative action:

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is a welcome victory for countless students across the country – academia’s ivory towers should not divide and promote preferences based on the color of…

— House Committee on Education & the Workforce (@EdWorkforceCmte) June 29, 2023

The Supreme Court decided in favor of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) and against both Harvard College and University of North Carolina admissions programs on Thursday, ruling that the schools’ practice of using applicants’ races as a factor in the admissions process violated the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Universities “have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin,” the majority opinion stated. “Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

Other Republicans on the Education Committee, including House GOP Conference chairwoman Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), praised the high court for its decision.

It “correctly rules that in the United States of America, every individual has the opportunity to succeed, regardless of background or race,” Stefanik wrote.

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), another member of the committee who founded the Anti-Woke Caucus this year, said in a statement that ridding of racial preferences in admissions was “just the beginning of eliminating race as a determining factor” in the military, government, boardrooms, and other areas.

“Massive blow to systemic racism,” Banks wrote.

A massive blow to systemic racism. 🇺🇸

— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) June 29, 2023

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), likewise, expressed satisfaction with the decision, saying the court “just ruled that no American should be denied educational opportunities because of race.”

“Now students will be able to compete based on equal standards and individual merit,” McCarthy wrote. “This will make the college admissions process fairer and uphold equality under the law.”

House Democrats, meanwhile, largely condemned the decision.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) denounced the six justices who supported the majority opinion as “extremists” and “right-wing ideologues,” claiming they “obliterated consideration of racial diversity in college admissions.”

The cases are Students for Fair Admissions v. Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, Nos. 20-1199 and 21-707 in the Supreme Court of the United States.