©  Getty Images/Jessica McGowan

A federal appeals court Monday issued a significant ruling on who can sue under the Voting Rights Act, a step toward notably weakening the law.

Only the U.S. attorney general can introduce legal challenges under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Acts (VRA), according to the ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

The ruling, which will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, would mean private individuals and advocacy groups can no longer sue over alleged discrimination in voting policies based on race, color or language minority group membership.

The panel ruled the VRA doesn’t explicitly state there’s a “private right of action.”

How we got here:

• The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Arkansas State Conference NAACP challenged the state House district map from the most recent redistricting cycle, saying it contained too few majority-Black districts.
  
  
• Last year, U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky dismissed the suit, saying only the U.S. attorney general could bring the case under the VRA. The plaintiffs appealed, and the panel Monday upheld Rudofsky’s ruling.

The Congressional Black Caucus decried the ruling, saying “private individuals and civil rights organizations have brought forward the majority of Section 2 cases under the VRA – including many cases this year that forced Republican-led state legislatures in Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida, among others, to redraw congressional maps to give Black voters better representation.”

Read more at TheHill.com.

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• President Biden turned 81 on Monday, but the family celebration will take place later this week in Nantucket, Mass., featuring coconut cake. 
  
  

• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced Grow the Majority, a joint fundraising committee that can solicit donations of up to $850,600 from each donor, to be distributed across 70 committees focused on helping Republicans win House seats.
  
  
• The Human Rights Campaign released a report to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, finding at least 33 transgender and gender-nonconforming people were killed in the past 12 months. Biden denounced such violence in a statement.

©  AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

A three-judge appeals court panel heard arguments Monday in former President Trump‘s appeal of a gag order in the federal 2020 election interference case.

The judges appeared skeptical of tossing the gag order, which would bar Trump from speech that targets special counsel Jack Smith, witnesses and court staff. The panel did, however, seem open to narrowing its scope.

The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee have more here.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will  square off Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. for a one-on-one debate, Fox News announced.

• Sean Hannity will moderate the 90-minute event, presented live from Alpharetta, Ga., and without a live audience.
  
  
• The network says the debate will “examine the vastly different approaches the two governors have and offer insights into their political philosophies as well as ambitions for the nation.”

DeSantis is a current presidential candidate, while Newsom, who has backed Biden in 2024, is often floated as a possible future Democratic contender. 

Read more from The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo

Today’s number:

$6.12

🍗 Estimated cost per guest for “this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast,” according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Greg Nash, The Hill

Starting today, you can once again order four free COVID tests for your household at COVIDTests.gov.

While former President Trump maintains massive polling leads in the GOP primary, more than 60 percent of his supporters say in a new poll that there is “at least some chance” they’d back another Republican.

“The Supreme Court is not necessary” — Fredrick E. Vars, the Ira Drayton Pruitt, Sr. Professor of Law at the University of Alabama. (Read here)

“Why neither Biden nor Trump will be the next president” — Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., a professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Read here)

3 days until Thanksgiving

16 days until the fourth GOP presidential primary debate

Tuesday: Utah holds a special congressional election for the only vacant House seat.

You’re all caught up! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you tomorrow!