Indiana legislative leaders met privately with Trump to discuss redistricting

Indianas Republican legislative leaders met privately with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to discuss redistricting an Indiana House spokesperson confirmed although it remains unclear if theyll join other states in trying to change congressional maps midcycle ahead of next years midtermsMany Indiana lawmakers have expressed hesitation to Trumps push to give his party an advantage in the 2026 race for control of the US House of Representatives Vice President JD Vance also spoke about the subject to numerous Indiana lawmakers who were in Washington DC to meet with administration officialsSeveral Indiana legislators came out in support of a midcycle map change following the meetings which were held as pressure mounts nationwide now that California Democrats enabled voters to decide whether to counter Republicans in Texas whose redrawn map now awaits the governors signatureI spent the day at the White House because Hoosiers deserve to be fairly represented in DC Indiana Sen Liz Brown posted on social media President Trump knows whats at stake if liberal strongholds like CA bend break and bust the rules to gerrymander their mapsSpokespeople for the offices of Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray provided no details on the Tuesday meeting with Trump The lawmakers were in Washington for White House State Leadership Conference meetings between the administration and state GOP leaders The White House did not immediately respond to a request for commentWhile redistricting did come up and members were able to ask questions we spent the bulk of our afternoon discussing issues like energy immigration and preventing waste and fraud in government Brays official statement about the conference said Bray did not comment on the meeting with TrumpTypically states redraw boundaries of congressional districts every 10 years to adjust to population changes Instead Trump encouraged Texas Republicans to change them to send five more Republicans to Congress In response California will hold a special election in November so voters can decide whether to counter the Texas advantage with a map that could help Democrats win more seats Lawmakers in other states also are mulling the possibilityVance already met privately with Gov Mike Braun and legislative leaders in Indianapolis on Aug 7 to discuss redistricting Braun a staunch Trump ally can call a special session but suggested Indianas next move would depend on lawmakers appetitesRepublican state Rep Craig Haggard said in an interview after the White House meeting that Vances argument wasnt strongarmed and theres still no broad consensus I dont think well really know until we get into a session and see some actual maps Haggard said Haggard said that in a perfect world Indianas maps would stay as they are but he believes the Republican party needs to maintain House control to continue its platformI think were going the right direction in this country said Haggard who is challenging a longtime GOP congressman in western Indiana I agree with the vice president that we should use all legal and constitutional methods given us to make sure we win Other Indiana Republicans have expressed opposition saying midcycle redistricting is costly and could backfire politicallyWe are being asked to create a new culture in which it would be normal for a political party to select new voters not once a decade but any time it fears the consequences of an approaching election state Sen Spencer Deery said in a statement Aug 13Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers in Indiana meaning Democrats could not stop or delay a special session by refusing to attend like their peers in Texas did Republicans also outnumber Democrats in Indianas congressional delegation 72 Some Republicans see an opportunity to gain all nine seats in the state which Trump won by 19 percentage points in 2024The GOP would likely target Indianas 1st Congressional District a Democratic stronghold encompassing Gary and other cities near Chicago Threeterm Democratic Rep Frank Mrvan won reelection in 2022 and easily retained the seat in 2024 even after Republicans redrew the district to be slightly more favorable to the GOPRepublicans could also zero in on the 7th Congressional District composed entirely of Marion County and the Democratic stronghold of Indianapolis but they would invite more controversy by slicing up Indianas largest city and diluting Black voters influenceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever