Indiana lawmakers meet with redistricting top of mind

Indiana House members are expected to move forward Monday with redrawing the state’s congressional districts in favor of Republicans, increasing pressure on their counterparts in the GOP-led Senate to meet President Donald Trump’s demands.

Republicans who control the House of Representatives said there is no doubt that redistricting will pass through this chamber. But the fate of any proposal that emerges remains ambiguous in the Senate. Republicans also control that chamber, but caucus members have resisted pressure to redistrict for months.

Read more: The Republican state lawmaker from Indiana who opposed Trump’s redistricting push has fallen victim to a beating

Senate leadership recently reversed its previous intention not to meet at all, agreeing to meet next Monday. But it remains unclear whether enough senators will support the new map.

No official map or legislation had been announced as of late Friday.

Republicans hold seven of the nine US House seats in Indiana. Trump and other Republicans want to make the map 9-0 in favor of the Republican Party, with the aim of giving the party two additional seats in the 2026 elections that will determine its control of the US House of Representatives. Democrats only need to flip a few seats to overcome the current Republican margin.

Indiana lawmakers are under increasing pressure from the White House to redistrict, as Republicans have done in Texas, Ohio and North Carolina. To offset GOP gains, Democrats in California and Virginia moved to do the same.

Read more: What’s next in the national redistricting battle after California approved a new map for the U.S. House of Representatives

But some Republicans in Indiana were far more resistant. Republicans in the state Senate rebelled against Republican Gov. Mike Brown in November, saying they would not attend a special session he ordered on redistricting.

The chamber’s top Republican, Speaker Pro Tem Roderick Bray, said at the time that the Senate did not have the votes. A spokesman for Bray’s office did not respond Friday when asked if that was the case.

Meanwhile, Trump attacked Indiana senators on social media, especially Bray. He swore to support the primary opponents of the dissident senators. A wave of threats and attempted attacks has been made against lawmakers who have either said they do not support redistricting or have not taken a stand. At least one lawmaker who supports redistricting and Brown were also threatened.

Read more: Why Trump’s plan to help the GOP control the House could backfire

Last week, the House announced plans to meet in Indianapolis on Monday.

“All legislative business will be considered starting next week, including redrawing the state’s congressional map,” House Speaker Todd Houston said in a statement Tuesday.

Then the Indiana State Senate, where a number of lawmakers objected to leadership’s refusal to hold a vote, said members would meet again on December 8.

Read more: Indiana Governor Mike Brown called a special session to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries

“The issue of redrawing Indiana’s congressional maps mid-session has received a lot of attention and is causing conflict here in our state,” Bray said in a statement Tuesday. He said the Senate would finally decide on the matter this month.

Vollmert reported from Lansing, Michigan.