922
Opinion of the Court
We do not accept the contention that the State has a compelling interest in complying with whatever preclearance mandates the Justice Department issues. When a state governmental entity seeks to justify race-based remedies to cure the effects of past discrimination, we do not accept the government's mere assertion that the remedial action is required. Rather, we insist on a strong basis in evidence of the harm being remedied. See, e. g., Shaw, supra, at 656; Croson, supra, at 500-501; Wygant, supra, at 276-277 (plurality opinion). "The history of racial classifications in this country suggests that blind judicial deference to legislative or executive pronouncements of necessity has no place in equal protection analysis." Croson, supra, at 501. Our presumptive skepticism of all racial classifications, see Ada-rand, ante, at 223-224, prohibits us as well from accepting on its face the Justice Department's conclusion that racial districting is necessary under the Act. Where a State relies on the Department's determination that race-based districting is necessary to comply with the Act, the judiciary retains an independent obligation in adjudicating consequent equal protection challenges to ensure that the State's actions are narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling interest. See Shaw, supra, at 654. Were we to accept the Justice Department's objection itself as a compelling interest adequate to insulate racial districting from constitutional review, we would be surrendering to the Executive Branch our role in enforcing the constitutional limits on race-based official action. We may not do so. See, e. g., United States v. Nixon, 418 U. S. 683, 704 (1974) ( judicial power cannot be shared with Executive Branch); Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137, 177 (1803) ("It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is"); cf. Baker v. Carr, 369 U. S. 186, 211 (1962) (Supreme Court is "ultimate interpreter of the Constitution"); Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U. S. 1, 18 (1958) ("permanent and indispensable feature of our constitutional system" is that "the federal
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