- Few people outside North Carolina have heard of Paul Newby, the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court. But Newby has had a huge impact on America and his state. He’s done this with the goal of delivering what he’s called “biblical justice, equal justice, for all.” THREAD 👇Oct 30, 2025 12:54
- 2/ Recently, he was essential in consolidating Trump’s grip on power by delivering to Republicans trifecta control of the federal government.
- 3/ In 2023, Newby led the court’s conservatives in reversing a recent decision by the court when it was led by Democrats, ruling that partisan gerrymandering was legal in NC. GOP lawmakers then gerrymandered the state.
- 4/ This gerrymandering transformed NC’s congressional delegation from 7 GOP and 7 Democrats in 2022 to 10 GOP and 4 Democrats in 2024.
- 5/ The 6-sweat swing gave Republicans, led by Trump, control of Congress and every branch of the federal government. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/u...
- 6/ That’s not all. During his two-decade rise, Newby has provided a blueprint for conservatives to seize most of the nation’s state supreme courts, which have increasingly become the final word on abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights and, especially, voting rights. publicintegrity.org/politics/hig...
- 7/ In NC, Newby’s decisions have impacted everything from voting rights to environmental regulations. By helping GOP lawmakers to strip powers from the Dem. governor, he’s played a role in cementing GOP dominance of the purple state. www.politico.com/news/2023/04...
- 8/ Arguably, Newby has now become one of NC’s most powerful people.
- 9/ I reached out to Newby multiple times during the course of my reporting and was even escorted out of a judicial conference while trying to interview him. The court’s communications director and media team also didn’t respond to detailed questions.
- 10/ However, this is a story that the NC GOP Communications Director, Matt Mercer, warned ProPublica not to tell. When I sent questions to Newby’s daughter, who works at the NC GOP, Mercer responded.
- 11/ “I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration and I’m sure they would be interested in this matter,” the NC GOP comms director wrote. “I would strongly suggest dropping this story.” He bolded and underlined "strongly," just in case we didn’t get the point.
- 12/ But ProPublica persisted. It’s a sweeping story of how one man, who believes he was called by God, rose to the top of the NC supreme court and used it to transform his state and nation: www.propublica.org/article/paul...
