The Dictatorship
Democrats lose edge to retake House after Virginia redistricting ruling
Virginia Democrats entered the redistricting fight believing that redrawing the map would tilt the state decisively in their favor and give them control of the U.S. House.
Instead, the party’s aggressive push to reshape congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms spiraled into a political and legal headache that stands to boost Republicans after the Virginia Supreme Court blocked their redistricting plan on Friday.
In fact, the Cook Political Reportwhich has been closely tracking developments in the mid-decade redistricting war, says the GOP now holds an advantage because of rulings from the Virginia Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans are likely to gain six to seven seats, according its newly updated analysis.
The Cook Political Report maintains Democrats are still positioned to retake the House. “But they are no longer overwhelming favorites,” it said.
Democratic political strategist and pollster Cornell Belcher agrees, saying his party wasn’t harmed by the Virginia court decision — it just wasn’t helped.
The ruling, he told MS NOW, “certainly makes it more difficult for Democrats to win because Republicans are rigging the system in real time.” But Belcher said Republicans run the risk of overreaching and making themselves “more vulnerable to a wave.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision as an assault on voting rights, telling MS NOW’s “Velshi” on Saturday, “This isn’t just Black people’s fight. It’s certainly everybody’s fight. It’s going to take an all-hands-on deck effort, and everybody has a stake in preserving a multi-racial democracy as part of the effort to preserve American exceptionalism.”
Still, some conservatives, pointing to a Fox News redistricting tracker, are now touting“massive seat gains” for Republicans as the battle over congressional maps intensifies.
The controversy in Virginia centered on a Democratic-backed proposal that would have dramatically reshaped the state’s congressional districts, potentially turning the state’s current 6-5 Democratic edge in the House into a near 10-1 advantage.
Republicans denouncedthe plan as an extreme partisan gerrymander, calling it a “desperate grab for power.” Virginia Democrats drew backlash because they had previously championed an independent redistricting processin 2020 as a safeguard against partisan mapmaking. Critics argued the party abandoned those principles once it saw an opportunity to expand its congressional advantage.
The redistricting fight in Virginia consumed months of political oxygen while lawsuitsmounted before Virginia voters ultimately approved the redistricting proposal in an April referendum in what would become a short-lived victory for Democrats.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones immediately filed a joint motionasking the high court to delay its decision as Virginia Democrats vowed to fight what they described as an effort to overturn the will of voters.
While it may not be the redistricting wipeout Democrats had hoped for, they expressed confidence after the ruling that they will carve out a path to regain House control.
“Make no mistake, Democrats will not roll over while Republicans undermine our democracy to entrench their power. This is not over. Democrats will use every tool at our disposal — the courts, Congress, and public opinion — to fight back on behalf of all Americans who believe in and seek to uphold fair elections, democratic representation, and the sacred right to vote,” Democratic National Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.
“The will of voters of Virginia and California are being challenged by Republicans,” Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., told MS NOW’s “The Weekend” on Saturday. “It’s really unbelievable. We’re going to have to fight back because there is no alternative at this point.”
The Virginia battle also reflects a broader national reality: Both parties increasingly view redistricting not as a procedural exercise, but as a high-stakes weapon in the fight for control of Congress.
“It’s a really sad state that our country is in when both political parties are using redistricting as their main strategy to win midterms,” former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. said in a social media post Saturday. “Both parties are not presenting strong cases as to why their policies and accomplishments are why the American people should vote for them.”
In Tennessee, Republicans approveda new congressional map on Thursday that splits the state’s only majority-Black district into multiple districts, a move Democrats are denouncing as Jim Crow 2.0.
“This is an attempt to take away, to destroy, to silence Black majority community of Memphis and it is an attempt, in one of the most significant, probably since the end of deconstruction to take away Black political voice in the United States Congress,” Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson said Saturday on MS NOW’s “The Weekend.”
The nationwide redistricting fight began after President Donald Trump pushed Republicans in Texas to pursue an aggressive congressional redraw aimed at strengthening the GOP’s hold on the House ahead of the midterms. Democrats in blue states fought back with redistricting strategies of their own, most notably in California.
Trump has seen his approval ratings dip to new lows, according to recent pollsas the war with Iran drags on and gas prices continue to soar, causing political headaches for Republicans just six months ahead of the midterms.
Still, Republicans are counting the redistricting rulings in the South as victories.
“Democrats just learned that when you try to rig elections, you lose,” Republican National Committee Chairman Gruters in a statement. “We took them to court, and we won.”
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
Over the course of June, Donald Trump spent nearly every day focusing attention on assorted construction and beautification projects, emphasizing the unavoidable conclusion that the president takes his renovation crusade very seriously.
His allies aren’t necessarily pleased. The Hill recently reported that Republican officials, worried about the midterm elections and maintaining partisan control, have been “thrown off-balance” by, among other things, Trump’s focus on “pet projects” instead of more meaningful national priorities.
The list of projects keeps growing nevertheless. It includes (but is by no means limited to) the ballroomthe Reflecting Poolthe “triumphal arch,” the fountainsthe horse statuesthe “Trump Promenade,” the “statue garden” and the dozen or so additional renovation projects he’s prioritized in and around the White House complex.
But let’s also not forget the helipad.
A couple of months ago, The Washington PostThe Wall Street Journal and The New York Times separately published similar reports about Trump hoping to build a permanent helicopter landing site on the White House grounds. Evidently, those plans have now advanced to the construction stage. The Post reported this week:
President Donald Trump has begun construction on a new White House helipad, his latest change to the historic grounds, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the project publicly.
Construction crews worked into the night Monday on the White House’s South Lawn, with the project blocked off by a large fence.
The report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, added that the project hasn’t yet been formally announced by the White House, even as construction is apparently underway.
It’s not yet clear how much the project will cost, who will pick the tab and whether this has joined the growing list of no-bid contracts.
Unlike some of the president’s other priorities, there is a legitimate issue here — the latest generation of helicopters really do damage the White House lawn — although this doesn’t answer the other lingering questions or explain why Team Trump hasn’t acknowledged the existence of the project.
What’s more, this almost certainly won’t be the last of the Republican’s projects.
Earlier this week, the president used his social media platform to promote an artificial intelligence-generated image of a gold eagle affixed to the White House exterior. Trump added in his online image, “A Golden Gift to the White House for its 250th Birthday Year!”
The text (which erroneously said the White House is celebrating its semiquincentennial) suggested the president intends to add this gaudy addition to his ambitious renovation agenda.
Recent polling has found two-thirds of Americans are convinced their unpopular president simply has the wrong priorities. Trump could take steps to change their mind, but he apparently doesn’t want to.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
The Dictatorship
Hegseth blasts protesters at ceremony for D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force: ‘Ingrates’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday derided protesters at an event in Washington, D.C., tied to the America 250 celebrationscalling the demonstrators “ingrates” who are “blinded by ideology.”
The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force event in Meridian Hill Park was set to begin at 9 a.m. ET but did not start until roughly 30 minutes later, as members of the National Guard waited for Hegseth’s arrival amid a brutal heat wave. Protesters shouted during his brief address, in which he said he was to blame for the delay and praised the troops for their service.
“In fact, this background noise this morning is perfect,” Hegseth said about the protesters, with White House adviser Stephen Miller and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche standing behind him.
“It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them,” Hegseth said. “That there’s nothing ideological about this group, there’s nothing political about this exercise.”
Some protesters could be heard shouting “Shame!” and “Guard, go home!”
Pete Hegseth: “This background noise is perfect. It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them.” pic.twitter.com/aWt5ciuRG3
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)”https://x.com/atrupar/status/2072679604184109222?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 2, 2026
National Guard troops have been deployed to assist with America 250 celebrations in the capital, though some Democratic governors have warned against their guard members being utilized for a larger federal joint task force to tackle what the Trump administration has called“rampant crime” in Washington.
Many Washington residents are not thrilled with the National Guard’s presence. The controversial America 250 festivities have also sparked criticism from Democrats who accuse President Donald Trump of putting himself at the center of the celebrations.
At the Thursday ceremony, Hegseth suggested the protesters were not from Washington.
“These ingrates will fade away; they’ll go back to wherever they came from,” he said, before asserting that National Guard troops have brought the crime rate down in the capital — a claim that at least one study has found to be inaccurate.
“The crime rate here has dropped in staggering amounts, and the media won’t want to admit it because, of course, they’d have to give credit to President Trump, and then they’d have to give credit to the Department of War or to Stephen Miller,” Hegseth said. “But courageous men like President Trump and Stephen, who said enough is enough, are the reason why this city is a safe and beautiful place.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
Stephanie Ruhle said she was left “almost speechless” after the release of Donald Trump’s new financial disclosureswhich reported he raked in more than $2 billion since returning to the White House. “Man, it looks good to be president,” the “Money, Power, Politics” host said Wednesday.
According to the 927-page document released Tuesday, Trump’s income has only increased since retaking the White House. The president reported almost $575 million in real estate and golf-related income and another $68.6 million in royalties and licensing fees.
But, as Ruhle pointed out, $1.4 billion of Trump’s 2025 total comes directly from one industry: crypto.
Despite having called that industry a “scam” and a “disaster waiting to happen” in 2021, Trump has in recent years appeared to have a change of heart about digital currency.
“That was just five years ago, but now he is a major crypto industry operator and essentially its top policy maker,” the MS NOW host said. “Remember, he is the one who appointed regulators that changed the rules to hugely benefit the crypto industry, and since he came back to office, he has either completely dropped or settled a whole lot of cases with crypto companies.”
As Trump rakes in more cash, Ruhle said the American people are not experiencing the same kind of prosperity, in part because of the administration’s policies. “[They] are suffering, whether it’s because of tariffs, whether it’s because of inflation, whether it’s because of increased costs, because of the war in Iran,” she said.
While Ruhle noted the president has said he does not choose his investments and has said they are in a “blind account,” she said the American people should not ignore how much Trump has profited since returning to the White House.
“Here’s what you need to know: All of this would be a major conflict of interest — a huge scandal — if it were any other presidency,” she argued.
You can watch Ruhle’s full breakdown in the clip below.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”
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