Category: Redistricting battle
‘Total RINO’: Trump vows to oust Indiana Republican leader over redistricting betrayal
President Donald Trump has vowed to “take out” the Republican leader in the Indiana Senate for failing to enact the administration’s preferred congressional map.
With the 2026 primaries fast approaching, Republicans and Democrats have been gone head-to-head in several states over congressional redistricting. While both parties have seen some success in redrawing districts to their partisan benefit, Indiana Senate Majority Leader Rod Bray’s chamber struck down a new map that would have created two red congressional seats.
‘Republican’s House majority continues to shrink.’
“I was with David McIntosh of the Club for Growth, and we agreed that we will both work tirelessly together to take out Indiana Senate Majority Leader Rod Bray, a total RINO, who betrayed the Republican Party, the President of the United States, and everyone else who wants to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said in a Truth Social Post.
“We’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!”
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Kaiti Sullivan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
McIntosh confirmed Trump’s statement, saying he and the president are “aligned.”
“Rod Bray is going down,” McIntosh said in a post on X.
Trump’s frustration with Bray comes as the Republicans’ House majority continues to shrink with resignations, impending retirements, and the tragic death of GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California.
Because of the successful redistricting efforts of blue states like California, many Republican seats are rated “toss-ups” by the Cook Political Report, leaving a lot of wiggle room for Democrats to regain control of the House. Just four Democrat-held seats are currently rated “toss-up,” while 14 Republican seats share the same electoral uncertainty.
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Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
There is also a trend of alternating between unified and divided governments every Congress, with the latter half of a president’s term often being paired with an opposing Congress. Although this is not the case for every modern presidency, it is an observable pattern that pundits and political operatives are bracing themselves for.
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Redistricting bill passes Indiana House but will face opposition in Senate — from some Republicans
The Indiana House of Representatives passed a controversial bill that would redistrict the state and possibly flip two seats to the Republican column in the midterm elections.
Fifty-seven members voted for the bill, while 41 voted against it. The bill will go to the Indiana Senate, where some Republicans have said they oppose the redistricting effort.
‘Fair maps are essential to protecting Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, and today the House voted to do just that.’
Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun urged the Senate to pass the bill.
“Fair maps are essential to protecting Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, and today the House voted to do just that, delivering a strong congressional map,” Braun said. “I commend Speaker Huston and his caucus for having the courage to protect Hoosier voters. I urge the Senate to move quickly next week and adopt this map so Indiana can move forward with confidence.”
However, efforts to persuade state Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, a Republican, to support the bill have failed so far.
Another Republican said that she received a threat over her opposition to the redistricting bill.
“Unfortunately, my house was the target of a pipe bomb threat on Saturday evening. This is a result of the D.C. political pundits for redistricting,” state Sen. Jean Leising wrote on social media.
Trump has blasted those Republicans as “RINOs,” an epithet meaning “Republican in name only.”
RELATED: Supreme Court allows Texas redistricting map for midterm elections; liberals dissent
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita cited the Supreme Court’s temporary approval of the Texas redistricting map for the midterms to justify his support of the bill.
“This specific map is legally solid. If any group or individual is silly enough to sue, we will defeat their attack in court,” Rokita said. “As the United States Supreme Court emphasized once again last night, redistricting for political reasons is constitutional. In fact, the Court has said that redistricting belongs in the legislature — in the hands of the people’s elected representatives, not judges.”
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Supreme Court allows Texas redistricting map for midterm elections; liberals dissent
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily approved the redistricting map in Texas for the midterm election over the dissent of the liberal justices.
The 5-3 partisan vote means Republicans will likely gain several seats from Texas. The decision blocks a lower court injunction just as politicians begin to qualify for elections in the state.
‘Congratulations to Texas for advancing the rule of law.’
The court has not yet issued a permanent decision on the lawsuit, claiming that the redistricting effort pushed by Republicans is discriminatory and unlawful.
Republicans hope the redrawn map will lead to five additional seats in the U.S. House, but Democrats have countered with their own redistricting effort, including one in California.
The Trump administration is suing against the new district map in California.
“To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map,” U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown previously wrote in the Texas case. “But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”
U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi praised the decision on social media.
“Federal courts have no right to interfere with a State’s decision to redraw legislative maps for partisan reasons,” she asserted.
“A federal district court ignored that principle two weeks ago, and the Supreme Court correctly stayed that overreaching decision tonight,” she added. “Congratulations to Texas for advancing the rule of law, my Solicitor General John Sauer, and our team of lawyers for their excellent brief supporting Texas in this important case.”
RELATED: Gov. Hochul says New York is jumping into redistricting feud between California and Texas
The redistricting effort in California was championed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who campaigned to push the proposition by characterizing it as a chance for Californians to push back against President Donald Trump.
The president accused them of rigging the election for the redistricting proposition, which passed easily.
“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED,” Trump said at the time. “All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review.”
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