Sen. Gary Carter Jr., a New Orleans Democrat, has stepped away from the committee that handles redistricting matters after a contentious public hearing Friday on Republican plans to draw a new congressional map that could remove one or both of Louisiana’s majority-Black districts.
“For the betterment of the Committee, and in order to help restore the decorum and focus that this moment demands, I’ve taken a voluntary leave of absence from the Senate Government & Affairs Committee,” Carter said in a statement. “Now is the time for clarity and purpose. We cannot afford distractions when the stakes are this high for our democracy, our representation, and the people we serve.”
Carter said his “voice in this process will remain strong, steady, and unwavering.”
Sen. Royce Duplessis, another New Orleans Democrat, has been assigned to the committee in place of Carter, according to the legislature’s website.
On Tuesday morning, Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said he did not remove Carter from the committee.
“He resigned voluntarily,” Henry said.
At a marathon meeting at the State Capitol Friday, protestors filled the halls to oppose a GOP effort to eliminate either one or two majority-Black congressional districts in Louisiana’s voting map.
Republicans are targeting majority-Black districts represented by Democrats after a watershed Supreme Court ruling last month found the state’s voting map unconstitutional. President Donald Trump is pushing states across the country to redistrict and create more safe Republican seats.
At the hearing, Carter repeatedly raised his voice, and he accused Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, who is sponsoring legislation to draw a new map, of targeting Black elected officials.
“You’re suggesting that I called you racist,” Carter, who is Black, said heatedly to Morris, who is White, during Friday’s meeting. “What I’m suggesting is that we look at the body of your work this session. You are the only member of this body that has legislation that reduces significant African-American political power throughout the state of Louisiana,” Carter said at the time.
Carter apologized Monday on the Senate floor to his colleagues, saying: “I’ll be the first to tell you that I lost my cool, I lost my temper during the hearing that we had Friday.”
Staff writer Sophie Kasakove contributed to this report.
