Trump blasts Indiana Republicans who defied redistricting pressure
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President Trump at a signing ceremony for the "Fostering the Future" executive order in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 13. Photo : Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
President Trump lambasted Indiana Republicans who resisted his pressure to enter the mid-decade redistricting war, saying any party member who votes against redistricting "should be PRIMARIED."
The big picture: Indiana marks the latest setback in Trump's drive to lock in a GOP House majority through mid-decade gerrymandering — part of his broader push to expand Republican power state by state.
- Republicans have pushed through aggressive maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.
- Democrats benefited from a court-approved map in Utah and their own partisan redraw in California.
- Indiana joins Kansas, Nebraska and New Hampshire, other Republican-led states that have resisted reopening their maps so far.
Driving the news: Trump called out two Indiana lawmakers — Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray and Sen. Greg Goode — as "RINO Senators," a favorite dig of his that means "Republican in name only."
- "Because of these two politically correct type 'gentlemen,' and a few others, they could be depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House, A VERY BIG DEAL!" the president wrote.
- He also took aim at Indiana Gov. Mike Braun for "perhaps ... not working the way he should to get the necessary Votes." Trump claimed Braun "wouldn't be Governor without me (Not even close!)."
- Braun had called for a special session to pass a new map. But Bray said Friday that after "very serious and thoughtful consideration," the redistricting idea did not have enough support to move forward.
Threat level: Trump said Indiana lawmakers should "DO THEIR JOB, AND DO IT NOW" — and if they don't, he wrote, they should be booted out of office.
- Seven of Indiana's nine U.S. House seats are held by Republicans. Trump wanted more.
- A spokesperson for Goode said the senator "previously stated at a local listening session he hosted on Nov. 1 that he would not take a public stance unless and until he saw an officially introduced map and legislation on the floor of the State Senate."
Zoom out: Trump claimed that "no one is complaining" about California's redistricting push to net up to five seats, which was launched in response to the president's campaign to redraw Texas' map in Republicans' favor.
- But his argument that "no one is complaining" seems at odds with the fact that his Justice Department is suing the Golden State over its Proposition 50 measure, which voters overwhelmingly approved earlier this month.
Catch up quick: Braun warned earlier this year that Indiana could face "consequences of not working with the Trump administration as tightly as we should" if the state dragged its feet on redistricting.
- But ultimately, the Republican supermajority couldn't find the votes, Axios Indianapolis' Arika Herron reported.
- While the House said they had the support, several Indiana Senate Republicans publicly opposed the move.
Go deeper: The national redistricting wars enter a new phase
