A senior House Democrat with close ties to top leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed carving up majority-minority districts to ensure Democratic redistricting gains ahead of the 2028 elections.

“I’m supportive of winning and being in the majority,” Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) said in a Thursday interview. “I think we can do that. I’m supportive of preserving our Democrats in the South, which is important, and I think that we can win and do what we need to do in other districts.”

“Trump changed the rules,” he continued. “I don’t like those rules, but we’re going to do what we have to do to win.”

Asked specifically if he would be supportive of unseating Republicans by redrawing deep-blue New York City districts held by minority lawmakers, like his own, to extend instead into less diverse suburban areas, he said, “I’m going to win, but we’ve got to get more Democrats, also.”

“We’re going to have a level playing field,” added Meeks, the longtime leader of the Queens Democratic Party.

In response to a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that allows GOP-controlled state governments to undo lines drawn to protect minority voting interests, Jeffries said this week he considers New York a prime target to counter those Republican gains in 2028. The top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), met with Gov. Kathy Hochul last week to talk about mid-decade redistricting but said in an interview Thursday they did not discuss the specifics of a new map.

As a senior Jeffries ally and a key member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Meeks will have considerable influence over New York redrawing its map.

“Nobody wants us to sit back and do nothing and just let them stamp all over us,” Meeks said.

His perspective aligns with many Democratic voters. New Blue Light News polling revealed Thursday that many Democrats want party leaders to fight back on Republican gerrymandering, including by breaking up majority-minority districts.

Meeks said redrawing district lines would not undermine his party’s commitment to diversity.

“We’re going to preserve those responsibilities that we have,” he added. “And we’re going to create more seats for Democrats to win.”

The House Ethics Committee officially announced it is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against Rep. Chuck Edwards.

The leaders of the bipartisan panel said Thursday they were probing whether the North Carolina Republican “created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment in violation of the Code of Official Conduct or any other applicable standard of conduct.”

Edwards, in a statement Thursday, said he “welcome[d] any investigation and plan[ned] to comply fully with the Committee.”

He added, “I am confident the investigation will expose the facts, not politically motivated fiction.”

POLITICO previously reportedthat Edwards was under investigation for allegations of having an improper relationship with staff and engaging in sexual harassment.

Speaker Mike Johnson this week said the allegations against Edwards are serious but that Edwards is also denying the accusations. The lawmaker has been seen on Capitol Hill this week attending floor votes and a candle light vigil in recognition of National Police Week.

In its current stage, the Edwards probe is less formal than an inquiry by an investigative subcommittee, which can only be convened by an Ethics Committee vote. Under committee rules, the panel must announce the formation of an investigative subcommittee, but investigations conducted at the discretion of leadership can operate in secret. That means leaders had no obligation to disclose their inquiry into Edwards at this time.

But the Ethics Committee is under new pressure to appear more responsive to allegations of misconduct among members, spurring an uptick in public statements and status reports about the panel’s typically secretive activities.

The renewed attention on sexual misconduct in the House specifically also compelled Republican and Democratic leadership to direct their party’s respective Women’s Caucuses to team up for a working group to develop changes to existing policies around sexual misconduct in the congressional workplace.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins will testify before House appropriators next week after lawmakers voted to withhold funding for the agency if he didn’t, according to two people familiar with the hearing that has yet to be officially announced.

“They were just being ornery,” Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), who chairs the VA appropriations subcommittee, said of the Trump administration in an interview Thursday afternoon.

The House plans to vote Friday to pass the annual bill that funds Collins’ department. Within that measure, lawmakers included a provision to withhold 25 percent of the department’s operating budget until Collins testifies before both chambers.

The secretary already appeared before Senate appropriators last month.

A spokesperson for the VA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.