Concerns from within the party have emerged due to President Donald Trump’s urging of more brazen alterations to congressional maps beyond Texas, as republicans are purported to be resifting the maps to suit their party lines. Frustration is brewing among lawmakers as Trump pushes for more seats to be obtained, inciting a vengeance-fueled contest for republicans to seize seats from the opposing party.
Given the driven agenda from the white house to sow discord within the party, some Missourians speculate they may have captured seats to be acquired in both Indiana and Ohio, to be polled as red and to earn four in Florida as well.
From the white office, the assertion that there are no maps drawn by the staff remains unchallenged. Contrary to the white house defenses, however, Trump’s pollster, John McLaughlin, has shared the reservations Trump seems to have in facing diabolical counter accusations should the Democratic Party seize control of the House.
McLaughlin, in favor of Trump, stated: “After everything he’s been through, I don’t think he wants to leave anything to chance that would allow his opponents to do what they did to him in the first term and the subsequent years.”
A number of elected Republicans are cautious of the effort to redistrict, worrying about backlash from Democrats in blue states and reluctant to disturb the status quo.
In Indiana, which is under Republican control and where Vice President JD Vance met with local officials to talk about redistricting, it seems that most Republican state legislators are not keen on the proposal, as indicated by one GOP legislator who asked to remain unnamed to discuss confidential discussions.
“Interest at this point is minimal,” remarked the legislator, who added that opinions could be swayed “with the right influence campaign.” If blue states respond in kind to counterbalance GOP gains in the red states, the individual added, “What’s the actual gain?”
During a Fox News appearance, Trump loyalist Mike Braun (R-IN) suggested that Indiana “has become more Republican over time, and these maps probably need to be looked at,” despite acknowledging that a redraw not tied to a new census would be “unusual.” After the meeting with Vance, Braun stated to reporters, “We listened” when asked whether any agreements were made.
Other Republicans from across the nation have not held back in spearheading this issue. Their focus is on making changes ahead of the midterms to solidify control of the narrow GOP U.S. House majority and, in turn, Trump’s agenda.
Elected officials from the Republican side of the aisle seem unsure of the new proposal to redraw the lines, worried about the potential backlash from the Democrats in blue states, and cautious of changing well-established boundaries.
During Vice President JD Vance’s meeting with state officials on Thursday, the discussion centered on redistricting; however, most Republican state legislators seem to be opposed to the concept. One of the concerned legislators explained their views under the condition of anonymity to share about closed discussions.
The “appropriate influence campaign” was probably going to be needed to change the legislator’s current position. The legislator adds, “If blue states retaliate to negate gop gains in red ones, what are you going to gain?”
On Fox News, “The maps probably need to be looked at” was the statement made by Indiana Governor Mike Braun after mentioning that the state “has become more republican over time.” The governor also shared that redrawing maps that are not tied to a new census would be “unusual.” Braun shared with reporters that they “listened” after meeting with the individual. When asked whether they made any agreements, Braun chose not to answer.
Other republicans garnered attention to the remarks made and seemed to be more enthusiastic to join the discussion as they seek to put in place measures ahead of the midterm elections in 2023 in a bid to expand the GOP’s narrow majority.
In Missouri, there is a very high likelihood that this is going to get done, added Gregg Keller, a Republican strategist from the state. It is a top priority at the White House at the highest possible levels.
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is looking to build support from the GOP base due to the incoming 2026 primary, claimed on Thursday that he had been granted permission by FBI Director Kash Patel to “assist” Texas law enforcement in the search for statehouse Democrats who fled the state for redistricting. “We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities,” he further added. The FBI declined to comment. The scope of plans, if any, that federal agents had for the situation was not clear.
In Trump’s attempt to increase the number of Republican-leaning districts in Texas, redistricting chaos has ensued across the country in anticipation of the 2026 elections. With Republicans defending a 219-212 House majority with four vacancies, the number of those districts deemed competitive directly correlates to the balance of power.
Texas was the first state to change district lines ahead of the census, prompting others to follow suit. Republicans in Ohio, looking to change the districts for friendly lines, have already announced plans to change theirs this year, and other states have started to follow suit.
Texas officials already knew Trump was interested in the redistricting process since the White House was already in contact with the state, requesting the process back in the spring, according to insider sources. Trump made those calls with the Texas Republicans to add five district lines for the GOP at the same time the state was already looking to add the five seats, which the state marked as safe for Republicans.
According to the report, Dave Carney was the head of the team attempting to execute this strategy and claimed that redistricting seats for the Republicans adds no costs whatsoever for the state.
Carney further explains that adding the districts that will change votes to gain more safe seats for the party will have no issue, so Texas should take the opportunity.
On Thursday, a Texas Senate committee cast a 6-1 vote in favor of advancing the redistricting legislation. “My first objective is to create a plan that elects more Republicans to the U.S. Congress,” said the redistricting committee chairman, Sen. Phil King (R), before the convened vote.
Democrats have expressed fierce opposition to the plan. At a news conference on Wednesday, Texas state Senator Carol Alvarado, a Democrat, expressed her concerns, saying, “Our state’s leadership is trying to redraw congressional lines in the middle of a decade with no new census, no new data, and no legitimate reason, save to serve one man’s political ambition — Trump. This is a service to one political ambition — Trump.” She also warned that the outcomes were far more detrimental than people were led to believe.
Missouri’s Keller expects redistricting to be taken up during the veto session, which is slated for early September. A source privy to the new emerging redistricting plans revealed that the new maps being discussed aim at redistricting to meet the goal of targeting Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D).
“Emanuel Cleaver, he’s a Democrat, he’s a friend. Why do Trump followers care more about adding to the roster more of his followers than the legality of it?” Cleaver said.
This week, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Missouri) publicly voiced her position endorsing redistricting to amplify GOP representation, and a Republican Senate leader indicated strong support for discussing the matter on the floor. She is the most imperiled of the Republican members of the Missouri delegation.
The source indicated to me that a tentative proposal he or she had received suggested that her district would likely be realigned to the south to include outlying counties that would increase St. Louis’ Republican base.
Plan redistricting triggered outrage among democrats. Texas state senate member Carol Alvarado openly criticized the shift and stated that there has not been a census or new data to validate the change while calling out Texas leadership for attempting to serve “one man’s political ambition — Donald Trump.” Alvarado has also said this would not be a one-off change.
Keller mentioned that the Missouri redistricting legislative session was likely to take place in early September. There were concerns that the new proposed map would serve the purpose of targeting Emanuel Cleaver II, which has been a secret among the emerging redistricting plans.
“Only what Trump wants” was a line by Cleaver that takes into consideration that the legal aspect is out of the window for this change.
This week, Wagner invested in redistricting plans and wished to include more Missouri GOP representation. The state’s senate leader, a republican, said the issue would be part of the legislature. Wagner is the most vulnerable republican in the delegation.
According to the tentative plans, she would likely move south to include the republican leaning counties around Saint Louis.
As for the state of Florida, the Republicans have made some changes that have benefited their party in the past few years. In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) forced unwilling GOP state lawmakers to redraw their districts to be more favorable to the Republicans, which helped the party gain an additional four seats.
On Thursday, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) informed state lawmakers that he is forming a “select committee” on congressional redistricting. DeSantis and the state Senate seem open to a redraw as well. A person familiar with GOP conversations said party leaders think at a minimum two or three red U.S. House seats could be added, which DeSantis is “very seriously” considering.
Still, Florida Republicans are blocked by the legal challenge of “Fair Districts,” an amendment to the Florida Constitution that states districts may not be drawn to favor a political party.
“I don’t know the legal basis on which redistricting could be done,” Rep. Randy Fine (R-Florida) said during an interview on Wednesday. “They would have to pass maps that they knew were unconstitutional under the Florida state constitution, hoping that some other court, I guess, would invalidate the Florida Constitution.”
Perez observed on Thursday that the State Supreme Court denied the challenge that was brought against the existing maps because of the Fair District amendments pertaining to minority representation. Republicans have used that case to argue that the Fair District rules are unconstitutional.
As Perez indicated in his letter to the lawmakers, he was open to the idea that the House “seek legal guidance” from the state Supreme Court. Changes to the maps in Florida and some other states could also prove to be disruptive for some Republican incumbents.
“ I’d like to stick with what I got here,” the Republican Representative from Florida, Daniel Webster, told Florida Politics.
From California, Republicans could be the ones to suffer as Democrats there seek to create additional blue seats in retaliation for the Texas Republicans. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-California), one of the targets of the anticipated California Democrat onslaught, this week asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) to “bring this chaos to an end.”
“The speaker needs to step up and show some leadership here because even our members in states that might in some theoretical, mathematical way stand to gain from new maps, don’t like what’s going on either,” Kiley said on MSNBC on Tuesday.
“They don’t like the idea of having their districts reconfigured, or having communities they’ve represented and been elected from removed from their district.”
In New York, Lawler responded to the Texas Republicans’ maneuver by saying he had no interest in gaining advantages for anyone else and had particularly no concern for the Texas drama being used to justify attempting to change their map.
“I have been very consistent in this,” Lawler said. “I fundamentally believe that gerrymandering is one of the main reasons for Congress’s dysfunction, because there are not enough competitive districts.”
Other Republicans have already started. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), alongside his gubernatorial campaign and facing daunting primary competition, amplified the call for his state to redraw the lines to eliminate the one Democrat remaining, Rep. Clyburn.
“I have respect for Jim Clyburn as a person, and he is a nice man. He is, however, a liberal Democrat who aided in placing Joe Biden in the Oval Office. That is not the kind of representation South Carolina is looking for.” Norman also stated.
This report was also supplemented by contributions from Dylan Wells in Washington, Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Houston, and Lori Rozsa in Palm Beach, Florida. source
