President Donald Trump downplayed his involvement in an effort to push a new congressional map for Indiana after the bill failed.
Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had been pressuring Indiana’s state legislature for months to redraw the state’s congressional districts to strip Democrats of two seats. These efforts ultimately were for nought after the Senate voted against the measure on Thursday, 19-31. When asked about the bill’s failure, Trump downplayed his involvement in the matter.
“I won Indiana all three times by a landslide, and I wasn’t working on it very hard. It would have been nice. I think we would have picked up two seats if we did that,” Trump said.
He then voiced restrained ire against Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, who opposed the redistricting effort.
“You had one gentleman, the head of the Senate, I guess, Bray, whatever his name is. I heard he was against it. He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is. I hope he does, because he’s done a tremendous disservice,” Trump continued.
After a vocal detour, the president stressed once again that he “wasn’t very much involved.” He then asked around the room to clarify that the head of the state Senate’s name was Bray.
INDIANA SENATE STRIKES DOWN REDISTRICTING BID DESPITE INTENSE PRESSURE FROM TRUMP AND ALLIES
“I mean, he’ll, I’m sure that whenever his primary is, it’s, I think, in two years, but I’m sure he’ll go down. He’ll go down. I’ll certainly support anybody that wants to go against him,” he continued.
The redistricting bill passed easily in the House but faced strong opposition in the Senate despite a Republican supermajority. Of the 31 no votes, 21 were from Republicans. The Senate has adjourned until January 2026.