Trump's push for redistricting hits red-state barriers

For most of President Trump's second term, Republicans have bent to his will.

- ISABELLA VOLMERT AND JOHN HANNA

INDIANA state Senate Leader Rodric Bray's office says the chamber lacks the votes to redraw districts.

But in two Midwestern states, Trump's plan to maintain control of the U.S. House in next year's election by having Republicans redraw congressional districts has hit a roadblock.

Despite weeks of campaigning by the White House, Republicans in Indiana and Kansas say their party doesn't have enough votes to pass new, more GOP-friendly maps. It's made the two states outliers in the rush to redistrict places where Republican-majority legislatures are unwilling or unable to heed Trump's call and help preserve the party's control on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers in the two states still may be persuaded, and the White House push, which has included an Oval Office meeting for Indiana lawmakers and two trips to Indianapolis by Vice President JD Vance, is expected to continue. But for now, it's a rare setback for the president and his efforts to maintain a compliant GOP-held Congress after the 2026 midterms.

Typically, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts every 10 years, based on census data.

But because midterm elections typically tend to favor the party not in power-and the GOP holds a razor-thin majority in the House Trump is pressuring Republicans to devise new maps that favor their candidates.

Democrats need to gain only three seats to flip House control, and the fight has become a bruising back-andforth.

With new maps of their own, multiple Democratic states including California are moving to counter any gains made by Republicans.

The latest, Virginia, is expected to take up the issue in a special session starting Monday.

Opposition to gerrymandering has long been a liberal cause, but Democratic states are now calling for redistricting in response to Trump's latest effort, which they characterize as an unprecedented power grab.

Indiana