Connect with us

Politics

Indiana Republicans don’t have votes to back Trump’s redistricting, Senate leader spox says

Published

on

Indiana Senate Republicans say they do not have votes to pass mid-cycle redistricting despite a pressure campaign from the White House, according to a spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray.

“The votes aren’t there for redistricting,” said Molly Swigart, Bray’s spokesperson.

The news comes just days after President Donald Trump held a phone call with reluctant members of the caucus, according to two people close to the sensitive talks. It threatens to upend what has been a nationwide push from the White House to force red states to redraw maps ahead of the midterms.

A person briefed on the talks said Indiana Gov. Mike Braun was inclined to call a special session to redo the state’s maps as early as next week. A spokesperson for Braun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The people briefed on the issue, granted anonymity to discuss the status of vote wrangling, said the White House conducted a dial-in poll of lawmakers that revealed the majority of Senate Republicans backed mid-cycle redistricting. But one senator cautioned Blue Light News that colleagues were confused by the instructions for the survey because the administration did not provide guidance on how to move forward.

One Trump ally close to the talks, granted anonymity to discuss the issue, said the White House believed the poll showed the majority of the holdout caucus supports mid-cycle redistricting. But they cautioned that Bray and his leadership team represent the majority of no-votes.

“If Bray would personally release his leadership to support this, there would be enough votes for this to pass,” the person said.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Indiana House Republicans are more broadly supportive of the plan after caucusing Tuesday and emerged from those talks with enough votes to move forward with redistricting if a special session is called, according to a third Republican briefed on the matter.

Allies to the White House, such as Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), have warned control of the House rests on whether Indiana can produce two additional Republican-held congressional districts by redoing the maps.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

Trump feels the economic heat

Published

on

Trump feels the economic heat

Welcome to Blue Light News’s Business & Economy newsletter {beacon} Business & Economy Business & Economy   The Big Story Trump faces backlash on economy as inflation rises President Trump is facing growing pressure over his handling of the economy as inflation rises, the job market weakens and American exporters suffer backlash from his trade agenda…
Read More

Continue Reading

Politics

More than 6 in 10 plan to vote for California redistricting plan: Survey

Published

on

More than 6 in 10 plan to vote for California redistricting plan: Survey

More than 6 in 10 Californian voters plan to support an upcoming redistricting plan, according to a poll. In the CBS News/YouGov poll released Wednesday, 62 percent of respondents said they would vote “yes” on Proposition 50 if the election happened on the day they responded…
Read More

Continue Reading

Politics

Shutdown set to impact SNAP funding in many states

Published

on

Shutdown set to impact SNAP funding in many states

As the government shutdown persists, funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are at risk in states across the country.  SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, are funded by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The federal government shares the cost of administering the program with states…
Read More

Continue Reading

Trending